In order to qualify for a redundancy payment, an employee must:
- have at least two years continuous service;
- be in employment which is insurable under the Social Welfare Acts;
- be over the age of 16; and
- must have been made redundant as a result of a genuine redundancy situation meaning that the job no longer exists and he/she is not replaced.
It is the responsibility of the employer to pay statutory redundancy to all its eligible employees. Where an employer can prove to the satisfaction of the Department that he/she is unable to pay the statutory redundancy to his/her employees the Department will make lump sum payments directly to the employees and will seek to recover the debt from the employer.
In the case to which the Deputy refers the person was employed by the Department of Education and Skills. Therefore, it falls to that Department to make any statutory redundancy payment that may be due to the person concerned. As such, the question is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Education and Skills.