Vol. 482 No. 5
56 Mr. Howlin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the plans, if any, she has to introduce legislation to combat ageism in redundancy programmes following recent developments in our EU partners; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18358/97]
There are many complex factors to be taken into consideration when an employer decides that redundancies are necessary in an enterprise. It would be neither practicable nor feasible to introduce legislation imposing conditions about the age distribution of employees who are to be made redundant. However, there is an appeals mechanism to the Employment Appeals Tribunal for any employee who considers that he or she has been unfairly selected for redundancy. Many employers are able to achieve necessary redundancy on a voluntary basis.
