Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-04 ============================================================ Neale Richmond (FG), Dublin Rathdown I thank the Senators for their considered contributions. I am aware of the very real experience of all those contributors and indeed you, a Leas-Chathaoirleach, in the corporate world as employers and as Ministers with relevant responsibility. This was a particularly informed and particularly useful debate, and it is really important that we stress that. A few issues were raised that I would like to address briefly, where possible, in the interest of being helpful. I am very grateful to Senator Nelson Murray for her very practical example of Linda's Florist. The Senator is a businesswoman of some renown. I did not know she was going into floristry next. Even if it is hypothetical, it is a very practical example. On two of the issues Senator McCarthy raised, the Bill refers to natural process. Therefore, the test for sole traders is that they are no longer acting as an employer to any employee. An issue raised also by Senator McCarthy is related to the issue Senator Murphy raised in relation to the €600-per-week limit, which has not been increased, as a matter of fact, for 21 years. A €600-per-week salary ceiling applies to both redundancy and insolvency payments. The salary ceiling for both purposes of redundancy and insolvency payments has been aligned since the creation of insolvency payment schemes in the 1980s. Therefore, the Minister cannot accept any suggestion that would have two different salary ceilings in operation. A range of factors must be carefully balanced in consideration of any increase to the ceiling, the same as in relation to the issue of the eight-week period. I fully accept the point Senator Murphy makes about it being a long time. The Minister is keen to get this legislation in place, see how it is working and see how it is amended, but he said to Deputy Conway-Walsh on Committee Stage that he would keep it under review. It remains under review, and I think we have to get the legislation fully enacted before we can conclude any sort of review process. I will address the two other remaining points before I conclude my intervention. Senator Crowe is dead right that this is a relatively small cost to the State and to the public body, but the protections are significant. I absolutely agree with Senator Murphy that it is vital that we enhance and enshrine workers' rights. I will sound just a small note of difference, that employers do not always walk away. We have to be fair and considered. There are bad actors and people who perhaps go insolvent without consideration, but sometimes cases are taken where a businessperson has passed away without winding up or getting their affairs in order. That is just an element of balance. I do not disagree with the wider point the Senator makes but it is important to provide that clarity for the Chamber. In relation to the two wider issues Senator Murphy raised, as he is aware, the Minister, Deputy Burke, instructed the CCPC to commence a piece of work yesterday on accusations of profiteering or gouging, or whatever you want to call, it by energy companies. This is a vital piece of work to provide that clarity and peace of mind for consumers. The events in the Middle East are ridiculously worrying, to be frank. On a human level, of course we are very concerned for the large number of members of the Irish community not only living in the region but caught in transit and those coming back from holiday or travel. We are also concerned about the very real economic consequences this will have. We have seen this in other conflicts, be it in this region or the war in Ukraine, where there is a knock-on effect. Increases to energy prices, be it gas or oil, are inevitable but increases of the like we have seen this week, so quickly and to the extent that we have seen, are abnormal and quite worrying. That is why that piece of work has to be done and the Government awaits that piece of work. Of course, if anyone is found to be profiteering, there are very clear sanctions. This Bill will make a positive impact. It will ensure that new cohorts of workers are protected under the insolvency payments scheme. The Bill will provide for a new statutory process for an employee to seek to have their employer deemed insolvent. The officials in the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment have worked carefully to ensure that this process is as streamlined as possible. The Bill is necessarily complex, but the Department aims to ensure that the process it underpins will not be. The Department has been very careful to ensure that workers are not burdened with an onerous process to navigate. It has balanced a straightforward process with safeguards to protect both employers who are still trading and, crucially, the taxpayer. While the Bill itself is quite technical, its intention is clear. It will further enhance the protection of employees where their employer becomes or is deemed insolvent. I am extremely grateful to the Senators for their time and their contributions. I appreciate their statements of support for this Bill and I look forward to progressing it to Committee Stage. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-04/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:43+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-03-04