asked the Minister for Labour if it is intended to reintroduce a weekly redundancy payment scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Redundancy Payment Scheme.
19.
I have no plans to re-introduce weekly redundancy payments.
These payments were abolished only last year under the Redundancy Payments Act, 1979, following prolonged and detailed discussions with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and I outlined the matter in my speech on the Second Reading of the Bill on 13 February 1979.
20.
asked the Minister for Labour if any anomalies have arisen in the redundancy payment scheme; and, if so, the action he proposes to take to remedy matters.
The operation of the redundancy payments scheme as revised by the 1979 Act is now being reviewed. Any anomalies shown up in the course of the review will be examined and possible remedies will be considered.
Has the Minister decided to reinstate weekly repayments to those who would have qualified for so many months of payments but got a new job before the period was exhausted and are now unemployed? Has any decision been made in relation to this or does the Minister propose to make any announcement?
A decision has not been reached on the anomalies to which the Deputy has referred which cropped up after the passing of the Act. The matter is being reviewed and I will be making a decision shortly.
Is the Minister aware that there is a temptation for some workers who badly need hard cash to go for a lump sum payment under the redundancy payment scheme even though their job is more viable than some of the jobs we are creating? Has the Minister given consideration as to how we might overcome this temptation to workers to sell their jobs away, something which may be present in the International Meat Packers dispute?
That is a separate question and one which was teased out well when I moved the Bill dealing with redundancy payments last year. I explained to the House then that the difficulties or disadvantages would be more than offset by the benefits to be gained by the workers concerned.