Ireland: Irish Ferries wins redundancy claim

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment decided in January 2007 to allow a claim made by Irish Ferries for a statutory redundancy rebate in respect of the 450 or so crew members who were replaced by lower-cost agency crews sourced in eastern Europe in a high-profile dispute in 2006 (EER 385 p.24). The total value of the rebate is estimated at €4.3 million and the decision has been sharply criticised by opposition politicians and trade unionists.