TÁNAISTE Mary Coughlan has said it is “totally unacceptable” that it takes an average of six months to process rebate applications from employers, and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment was transferring staff and introducing other measures to deal with it as quickly as possible.

Ms Coughlan told the Dáil that redundancy payment claims rose to 42,724, an increase of 160 per cent, in the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year.

“Moreover, claims lodged at this half-year point now exceed the total number of claims received for the full year 2008, which, of itself, was an exceptional year by comparison with earlier years, when claims received were of the order of 25,000 or less.”

Replying to Damien English (FG, Meath West), the Tánaiste said the number of redundancy claims was unprecedented, and was “giving rise to delays in the processing of redundancy payments for individuals and companies within acceptable timeframes”.

“I am acutely aware of the difficulties which the inability to deliver an acceptable turnaround of redundancy rebate payments is giving rise to.”

She said because the delay was totally unacceptable all of her overtime budget was going to deal with this inordinate difficulty.

“I appreciate that it is not good enough and we will certainly do all that we can to correct this as quickly as possible.”

She said some 20 staff had been moved from other sections of the department to the redundancy payments area, along with an additional 14 staff. “One suggestion was that we outsource this work, but I have not yet come to a final agreement on that. But if necessary that is another option.”

Mr English said allocating extra staff was “a good move”, but he asked: “Can anything else be done to reduce those waiting times?”

It was a massive jump from six weeks to six or seven months, and that was not good enough.

“We know that businesses are under great pressure. They cannot get money from banks or from their customers, and they cannot even get it from the department. Even the small sum of €1,000, €2,000 or €3,000 is a lot of money.”

The Tánaiste said: “I know that everybody is crying out for the few euro to which they are entitled for one reason or another. We have met several businesses which have asked us to transfer the money to the Revenue Commissioners to get those boys off their backs. We have facilitated that on an individual basis.”

She said they had also transferred many of those in the work permit section to the “redundancy section”.

She had requested additional staff and believed the Minister for Health would facilitate the transfer of an extra 10 people.

Later, Minister of State Conor Lenihan told Fine Gael enterprise spokesman Leo Varadkar that several hundred companies had availed of the scheme with the Revenue Commissioners to offset tax liabilities against redundancy payment rebates. They were working with Revenue to allow the offset go against PRSI and VAT payments.

Labour enterprise spokesman Willie Penrose asked about letters of comfort for businesses from the department to say that the refund money was due.

“Small companies could show that to the banks in order to release another few euro.”

Mr Lenihan said they would put it to the Revenue Commissioners.