Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 November 2006
199 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if workers over the age of 65 are not entitled to redundancy payments while their colleagues who are aged under 65 are entitled to those payments; if so, the reason this discrepancy exists; if he will correct this discrepancy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38042/06]
View answerAt the present time, an employee is entitled to receive a statutory redundancy lump sum on being made redundant up to the day before his/her 66th birthday.
Traditionally, the upper age limit for eligibility for redundancy payment was the same as the pensionable age within the meaning of the Social Welfare Acts. In 1971 the upper age limit was 70, in line with the then old age pension age of 70. This was revised downwards by the Redundancy Payments Act 1979 to 66 years, which was the new pensionable age set out in the Social Welfare Act.
The Redundancy Review Group Report of July 2002, which produced recommendations for the up-dating of statutory redundancy Legislation, considered that increasing the upper age limit of 66 for redundancy qualification purposes would not be a priority in the short term if resources were scarce.
The Group recognized however that the labour force is becoming older and that participation in the labour force by older people (if desired) should be facilitated. Accordingly it was recommended that consideration should be given in the medium term to removing the age cap or raising the age cap in conjunction with similar changes to Unfair Dismissals, Equality and Social and Family Legislation as recommended by the Equality Authority.
On 18th July, 2004, the upper age limit of 66 for bringing claims under the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2001, was removed by the Equality Act 2004.
However, the Unfair Dismissals Acts will not apply to dismissed employees who, at the date of dismissal, had reached the normal retirement age in that employment, i.e if it is the policy in an employment to retire employees at a certain age, then the new provisions would not apply.
The removal of the age cap of 66 for statutory redundancy is being considered in the context of new legislation which is being prepared to give effect to certain commitments in relation to exceptional collective redundancies and Unfair Dismissals arising from "Towards 2016".
