Dail agrees ex-gratia sums for IFI workers

The Dáil last night approved a package of ex-gratia severance payments to Irish Fertilizer Industries' workers, following the announcement of the company's liquidation.

The payments package is worth almost €24.5 million, an average of €50,000 to each worker, the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, told a special debate. He said he hoped the payments would be made "as soon as possible".

There was "no legal obligation" to make the payment, he said, but the Government and ICI, as the two shareholders, believed that "an orderly wind-down and liquidation is in everybody's interests".

The Dáil approved the €12.489 million to be paid by the State as the 51 per cent shareholder, while ICI would provide €12 million as the 49 per cent shareholder. Mr Walsh said the Government and ICI have "agreed to provide funds immediately" because statutory entitlements would take a number of weeks to be paid. The unions had highlighted difficulties faced by workers laid off in the past few days.

They faced "the prospect of severe cash flow difficulties within a very short period of time because the company was, unfortunately, only in a position to pay wages due up to the date of lay-off". Interim payments would be made immediately, based on three months' pay or €5,000, whichever was lower.

Mr Walsh said it was a matter of extreme concern that employees' pension entitlements might not be met by their pension funds. But the difficulties stemmed "mainly from adverse stock market movements, rather than from any default on the part of the company".