School of Law Professor Emerita Irene Lynch Fannon appears before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment

1 Feb 2023

In her capacity as Chairperson of the Insolvency Sub-Committee of the Company Law Review Group (CLRG), UCC School of Law Professor Emerita, Irene Lynch Fannon, together with the Chairperson of the CLRG, Paul Egan SC, appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment on Wednesday, 1st of February.

This related to a private member's bill addressing issues surrounding the protection of employees following a corporate reorganisation with a liquidation of the operating company (the employer). The key issue of concern is the ability to access potential assets which might rest elsewhere in a corporate group, despite the insolvency of the operating subsidiary. This matter has been the focus of two Reports from the CLRG acting through its insolvency sub- committee chaired by Prof. Lynch Fannon.

The Reports are:

• Report on the Consequences of Certain Corporate Liquidations and Restructuring Practices, Including Splitting of Corporate Operations From Asset Holding Entities In Group Structures (December 2021) HERE 
• Review of Existing Legislative Provisions Regarding the Provision of Information to Creditors Generally and in Particular to Employees (March 2021) HERE

The Government has introduced legislation to address some of the recommendations in these reports in the following legislative acts:- the Companies (Administrative Governance & Insolvency Amendment) Bill and the Protection of Employees (Employer's Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill.