Congress General Secretary David Begg today (March 11) urged Finance Minister Michael Noonan to "intervene" to ensure that IBRC staff achieve a fair redundancy settlement.
Mr Begg said that severance terms originally agreed with the Department of Finance had been withheld on a legal technicality, arising from the liquidation of the company in a special sitting of the Oireachtas to address the promissory notes issue in February 2013.
"Many of the IBRC workers earn below the average industrial wage and I strongly believe a settlement - mediated by Kieran Mulvey of the Labour Relations Commission - could be within reach if the Minister was prepared to lend his support," Mr Begg said.
"I have yet to meet a public representative who is anything but sympathetic to the plight of the IBRC workers and so I so do not believe the Minister would encounter any serious opposition to an intervention along these lines.
"And as the previous terms were less than those offered in the public service, it is highly unlikely that a settlement for these workers would lead to many knock-on claims - especially considering the particular circumstances facing the IBRC workers.
"In view of the substantial contribution they have made in ensuring that the assets of IBRC are of sufficient quality to produce a significant return to the State, it would fitting if that was recognised by something more than just their statutory entitlements, as they face a very uncertain employment future," Mr Begg concluded.
