S.I. No. 545/2020 - Redundancy Payments Act 1967 (Section 12A(2)) (Covid-19) (No. 4) Order 2020

1. This Order may be cited as the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 (Section 12A(2)) (Covid-19) (No. 4) Order 2020.

2. The 31st day of March 2021 is hereby specified as the date to which the emergency period, as defined in subsection (5) of section 12A (inserted by

section 29

of the

Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020

(No. 2 of 2020)) of the

Redundancy Payments Act 1967

(No. 21 of 1967), shall be extended.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Government,

24 November, 2020.

MICHEÁL MARTIN,

Taoiseach.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(

This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation

.)

This Order extends, until 31st March 2021, the emergency period during which

section 12

of the

Redundancy Payments Act 1967

shall not have effect.

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of

27

th November,

2020.

WHEREAS the

Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020

(No. 2 of 2020) made exceptional provision, in the public interest and having regard to the manifest and grave risk to human life and public health posed by the spread of the disease known as Covid-19 and in order to mitigate, where practicable, the effect of the spread of that disease and to mitigate the adverse economic consequences resulting, or likely to result from the spread of that disease;

AND WHEREAS

section 29

of the said Act amended the

Redundancy Payments Act 1967

(No. 21 of 1967) to make provision in relation to the operation of certain provisions of the

Redundancy Payments Act 1967

for a certain period following the enactment of the

Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020

and such further period (if any) as may be specified by order of the Government;

AND WHEREAS subsection (5) of section 12A (inserted by

section 29

of the

Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020

) of the

Redundancy Payments Act 1967

has defined the “emergency period” for the purposes of that section as ending on 31 May 2020;

AND WHEREAS subsection (2) of section 12A of the

Redundancy Payments Act 1967

provided that, before the expiration of the emergency period, the Government may, by order, at the request of the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection made after consultation with the Minister for Health, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and having had regard to the matters referred to in subsection (3) of the said section 12A, specify a date that is later than the expiration date of the emergency period specified in the definition of “emergency period” or the last order made under subsection (2) of the said section 12A, as the case may be, and the emergency period shall be read as extending to, and including the date so specified;

AND WHEREAS the Government by order dated 29th May 2020 entitled the

Redundancy Payments Act 1967

(Section 12A(2)) (Covid-19) Order 2020 (

S.I. No. 193 of 2020

) specified the 10th day of August 2020 as the date to which the emergency period, as defined in subsection (5) of section 12A (inserted by

section 29

of the

Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020

) of the

Redundancy Payments Act 1967

, shall be extended;

AND WHEREAS the Government by further order dated 4th August 2020 entitled the

Redundancy Payments Act 1967

(Section 12A(2)) (Covid-19) (No. 2) Order 2020 (

S.I. No. 290 of 2020

) specified the 17th day of September 2020 as the date to which the emergency period, as defined in subsection (5) of section 12A (inserted by

section 29

of the

Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020

) of the

Redundancy Payments Act 1967

, shall be extended;

AND WHEREAS the Government by further order dated 15

th

September 2020 entitled the

Redundancy Payments Act 1967

(Section 12A(2)) (Covid-19) (No. 3) Order 2020 (

S.I. No. 349 of 2020

) specified the 30th day of November 2020 as the date to which the emergency period, as defined in subsection (5) of section 12A (inserted by

section 29

of the

Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020

) of the

Redundancy Payments Act 1967

, shall be extended;

AND WHEREAS the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, having consulted under subsection (2) of section 12A of the

Redundancy Payments Act 1967

and the Employment Affairs and Employment Law (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2020 (

S.I. No. 438 of 2020

) with the Minister for Health, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, and having regard to the matters referred to in subsection (3) of section 12A of the said Act , has made a request in accordance with subsection (2) of section12A of that Act;

Now the Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by subsection (2) of section 12A of the

Redundancy Payments Act 1967

, and having had regard to the matters referred to in subsection (3) of section 12A of the

Redundancy Payments Act 1967

, hereby order as follows