Paul Kehoe
Question:66 Mr. Kehoe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she will report on the liquidation of IFI; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25104/02]
Written Answers. - Company Closures.
Mr. Ray Jackson was appointed liquidator of IFI on 8 November last. I am aware that he is now actively proceeding with the liquidation process. I also understand that the workers are co-operating fully with the liquidator. It will obviously take some time for the liquidator to realise the various assets of the company and to pay creditors whatever is due to them out of the available funds. As the Deputy will probably be aware, the shareholders have agreed to provide nearly €24.5 million to fund ex gratia severance payments to the workers. This is separate from statutory redundancy payments which my Department is aiming to issue before Christmas in respect of valid claims received recently. The basis for the distribution of the ex gratia funds will be determined by Mr. Jackson, in his role as the trustee of the trust fund established for this purpose, following consultations with workers representatives. While this process has not yet been completed, interim payments of €5,000 have now been paid to most workers.
Simon Coveney
Question:67 Mr. Coveney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of the pension fund available to IFI former workers in view of the fact that the liquidation process has begun. [24893/02]
Even though it is now over a month since the company announced that it was to close, the position in relation to the various pensions funds covering IFI workers remains unclear. This is unavoidable given the complexity of pensions issues generally but it is unfortunate that there still appears to a lot of incomplete and sometimes conflicting information circulating at present in relation to the position of each of the various schemes involved. Nevertheless, it is understood that the funds do face potential difficulties, which, in the case of Belfast, seem to be particularly serious. For a number of reasons, such as the different regulatory environment, the position of the schemes covering workers at the other locations may be somewhat better.
However, the problems seem to stem mainly from the impact of adverse stock market movements on the pensions funds investments which are managed by boards of trustees acting independently of the company. IFI has been meeting its obligations to the various schemes on an ongoing basis. The estimated statement of affairs presented by the IFI board at the creditors' meeting showed that the company owes the pensions schemes just £178,000, which should be paid in full in due course because this debt ranks as a preferential creditor in the liquidation. I am not aware of any obligations on my part or on the part of ICL, the other shareholder in IFI, in relation to the pensions funds.
It is clear that the uncertainty surrounding the state of the various schemes is giving rise to serious concerns on the part of employees, concerns which may or may not be well founded. Accordingly, it is critical that the trustees of each scheme establish the full facts as quickly as is feasible and consider the full range of options available to them to mitigate the impact on members or to minimise any shortfalls. In this regard the shareholders have, in the interests of establishing clarity, advised the trustees of each of the funds involved that they would like to be briefed on the trustees' present assessment of the position and their plans in relation to the future. I expect that initial briefings will raise place within the next few weeks. Unfortunately it seems likely that it will take some time for the various issues involved to be clarified fully.
Question No. 68 answered with Question No. 15.