Redundancy Payments Act, 1971

Provisions relating to special redundancy schemes.

15.—(1) Any dispute arising under a special redundancy scheme may be referred by a party to the scheme to the Tribunal and shall be deemed to be a question referred under section 39 of the Principal Act to the Tribunal for a decision on the question.

(2) For the purpose of providing moneys for making payments which under this Act are to be made out of a fund established under a special redundancy scheme, there shall be paid into that fund—

(a) as may be provided in that scheme, weekly contributions which shall comprise a contribution by employers and a contribution by employees, and

(b) advances as provided for in subsections (3) and (4).

(3) The Minister for Finance may from time to time, on the recommendation of the Minister, advance to any fund established under a special redundancy scheme moneys to enable payments required under the scheme to be made out of the fund, and any advances under this subsection shall be made out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof and shall be on such terms as to interest and repayment as the Minister for Finance may determine.

(4) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, from time to time authorise the transfer of moneys from the Redundancy Fund to any fund established under a special redundancy scheme, and any moneys transferred under this subsection shall be repayable to the Redundancy Fund on such terms (including terms as to interest) as the Minister for Finance may determine.

(5) (a) A fund established under a special redundancy scheme shall comprise a current account, to be managed and controlled by the Minister, and an investment account, to be managed and controlled by the Minister for Finance.

(b) Save where otherwise specifically provided, sums payable into a fund established under a special redundancy scheme shall be paid into the current account of that fund and sums payable out of that fund shall be paid out of that account.

(c) Moneys standing to the credit of the current account of a fund established under a special redundancy scheme and not required to meet current expenditure shall be transferred to the investment account of that fund.

(d) Whenever the moneys in the current account of a fund established under a special redundancy scheme are insufficient to meet the liabilities of that account there shall be transferred to that account from the investment account of that fund such sums as may be necessary for the purpose of discharging those liabilities.

(e) Subject to paragraph (d), moneys standing to the credit of the investment account of a fund established under a special redundancy scheme shall be invested by the Minister for Finance, and income arising from any such investment shall be paid into that account.

(f) An investment pursuant to paragraph (e) may be in any securities in which trustees are for the time being by law empowered to invest trust funds or in any of the stocks, funds and securities as are for the time being authorised by law as investments for the Post Office Savings Bank funds.

(g) The accounts of a fund established under a special redundancy scheme shall be prepared in such form, in such manner and at such times as the Minister for Finance may direct and the Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine and certify every such account and a copy thereof, together with the report thereon of the Comptroller and Auditor General, shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.