Under the provisions of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act, 1984 an employer company shall be regarded as being insolvent if the company is placed into receivership or if a winding-up order has been made or a resolution for the voluntary liquidation of the company has been passed. The former employer of the person concerned has not engaged in any of these processes and therefore the person is not covered by the provisions of the 1984 Act.
My Department is continuing to review the position to establish what, if anything, can be done to progress payments to individuals in situations where employers cease trading without engaging in a formal winding-up process and who owe monies to their employees.
The Department is consulting with a range of interested parties including the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the Revenue Commissioners to establish what, if anything can be done to progress payments to individuals in these situations. To date officials from the Department have had one formal meeting with the various parties mentioned above in connection with this issue and continue to engage with all relevant parties to try to progress the matter.
I am not in a position to indicate when this review will be completed.
