DARRAGH O'BRIEN TD
  • HOME
  • About Darragh
  • News
  • Parliamentary Questions
    • Housing, Planning & Local Government PQ's
    • School PQs
    • Foreign Affairs PQS
    • Oral Questions
  • Newsletters
  • Videos
  • PHOTOS
  • FIANNA FAIL
  • CONTACT
  • DATA Protection Statement

Parliamentary Questions

To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

12/11/2019

 
QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of the Supreme Court decision regarding EU member states having a mechanism allowing the court to determine that a state of insolvency arises permitting employee claims to be met from the social insurance fund without making a winding-up order; when payments will commence from the social insurance fund in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

The purpose of the insolvency payments scheme is to protect certain outstanding pay-related entitlements due to employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer.  The scheme operates under the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act 1984, which derives from EU Directive 2008/94.   Payments are made from the Social Insurance Fund.

The Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act 1984 provides for a scheme to employees of companies that are in a formal wind-up procedure such as liquidation or receivership, or situations where the employer has died and the estate is insolvent, or an employer has been declared bankrupt. 

The legislation does not provide for situations where an employer ceases to trade without engaging in any formal wind-up process. In such cases, referred to as ‘informal insolvency’, former employees may have monies owed to them without having a legal mechanism to claim same from the Social Insurance Fund.

In December 2018, the Supreme Court found that Ireland must provide a mechanism through which a competent authority can determine that a state of insolvency arises, without requiring a formal wind-up process, and that monies due to the employee can be claimed by them from the Social Insurance Fund.

The judgment and its ramifications are complex.  Consideration must be given to:-
  • how the definition of insolvency for the purposes of the Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) Act 1984 can be extended to include situations of informal insolvency  and what are the implications and consequences for company law.  To date the two statutory regimes - employers' insolvency on one hand and company law on the other - have been aligned.
  • The determination of insolvency and by whom this determination will be made in the absence of a formal wind-up process.  This will be essential in situations of informal insolvency.
  • Safeguarding the Social Insurance Fund from potential abuse.
Officials in my Department are working with the Office of the Attorney General and external counsel in addressing the issues involved.  Consultation with other relevant Government Departments and Offices is also underway.  

Comments are closed.
    Picture

    PQs

    All Parlamientary Questions I make and their answers can be viewed in this section

    Archives

    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Darragh O'Brien TD


Address

Darragh O'Brien TD
Leinster House
Kildare Street
Dublin 2

Telephone

T:  01-6183802

Email

At present, and as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am not holding my regular meetings across our towns and villages in North County Dublin. However, both I and my office are happy to speak to you and assist you with any issues you may have.

For all housing, planning or heritage related queries please don’t hesitate to contact:
Email: minister@housing.gov.ie
Phone: 01-8882000
Postal address: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Custom House, Dublin 1, D01 W6X0
 
For all constituency related queries please don’t hesitate to contact:
Email: Darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie
Phone: 01-6183802
Postal address: Dáil Éireann, Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
 



  • HOME
  • About Darragh
  • News
  • Parliamentary Questions
    • Housing, Planning & Local Government PQ's
    • School PQs
    • Foreign Affairs PQS
    • Oral Questions
  • Newsletters
  • Videos
  • PHOTOS
  • FIANNA FAIL
  • CONTACT
  • DATA Protection Statement