Dara Calleary

Ministers yesterday approved the priority drafting of the Plan of Action on Collective Redundancies following Insolvency Bill 2023, which will implement the remaining commitments contained in an action plan published in June 2021.

As well as amending the Protection of Employment Act 1977 and the Companies Act 2014, the bill will establish a new statutory Employment Law Review Group to advise the minister for enterprise, trade and employment on all aspects of employment and redundancy law.

Dara Calleary, minister of state for trade promotion, digital and company regulation, said: “The bill will further bolster the significant progress that has been achieved by the government in delivering on the important commitments made under the plan of action.

“Importantly, legislation will further enhance the protection of employees in a collective redundancy in a way that will not unduly impact business.

“I am conscious that despite successive challenges in recent times, Irish businesses have shown a high degree of resilience. However, the cumulative impacts of Brexit, Covid-19 and supply chain disruptions, pose significant risk and it can be expected that Ireland will experience increasing levels of company restructuring in the future.

“This bill amends the Companies Act 2014 to improve the quality and circulation of information to workers as creditors in a liquidation.

“The large majority of businesses in these situations act fairly and responsibly, and the incidence of abusive practices in corporate restructuring is low. Nonetheless this bill will ensure the measures, that exist to protect the assets from being moved beyond the reach of creditors prior to the opening of insolvency proceedings, are more accessible to creditors.

“The government is committed to providing support to these Irish businesses and their employees and this bill reflects the results of extensive engagement with representatives of employer organisations and trade unions. It represents a balanced approach to the need to tackle problems arising from collective redundancies in company insolvencies.”

Neale Richmond, minister of state for employment affairs and retail business, added: “The establishment of the Employment Law Review Group will be a hugely valuable resource, allowing for an ongoing assessment of employment and redundancy law to ensure it is fit for purpose.

“The group will comprise of members with expertise and an interest in the development of employment and redundancy law. This will include members from the legal, accountancy and insolvency professions; representatives from business, unions and regulators; as well as ministerial nominees.

“To ensure that our employment law framework adapts to the changing workplace, emerging trends will also be examined. The group’s focus will be expert, technical, and legally led.

“The bill will initially place the group on a statutory footing. However, in anticipation of this, I will set up the group on a non-statutory basis as soon as is possible.”