Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund in accordance with point 28 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management (application EGF/2012/001 IE/Talk Talk from Ireland)
Date: 2012-07-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, Ireland, collective dismissal, commitment of expenditure, economic recession, employment aid, reintegration into working life, telecommunications industry

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 27.7.2012  
COM(2012) 423 final 

Proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund in accordance with 
point 28 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the European 
Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound 
financial management (application EGF/2012/001 IE/Talk Talk from Ireland) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

Point  28  of  the  Interinstitutional  Agreement  of  17  May  2006  between  the  European 
Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission  on  budgetary  discipline  and  sound  financial 
management1  allows  for  the  mobilisation  of  the  European  Globalisation  Adjustment  Fund 
(EGF)  through  a  flexibility  mechanism,  within  the  annual  ceiling  of  EUR 500 million over 
and above the relevant headings of the financial framework. 

The rules applicable to the contributions from the EGF are laid down in Regulation (EC) No 
1927/2006  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  20  December  2006  on 
establishing the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund2. 

On  29  February  2012,  Ireland  submitted  application  EGF/2012/001  IE/Talk  Talk  for  a 
financial  contribution  from  the  EGF,  following  redundancies  in  Talk  Talk  Broadband 
Services (Ireland) Limited (hereinafter referred to as Talk Talk) and three of its suppliers in 
Ireland. 

After  a  thorough  examination  of  this  application,  the  Commission  has  concluded  in 
accordance  with  Article  10  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1927/2006  that  the  conditions  for  a 
financial contribution under this Regulation are met. 

SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION AND ANALYSIS 

Key data: 
EGF Reference no. 
Member State 
Article 2 

Primary enterprise 

Suppliers and downstream producers 
Reference period 
Starting date for the personalised services 
Application date 
Redundancies during the reference period 
Redundancies before and after the reference period 
Total eligible redundancies 
Redundant workers expected to participate in the 
measures 
Expenditure for personalised services (EUR) 
Expenditure for implementing EGF3 (EUR) 
Expenditure for implementing EGF (%) 
Total budget (EUR) 
EGF contribution (50 %) (EUR) 

EGF/2012/001 
Ireland 
(a) 
Talk Talk Broadband Services 
(Ireland) Limited 
3 
7.9.2011 – 7.1.2012 
7.9.2011 
29.2.2012 
586 
6 
592 

432 

5 092 765 
300 000 
5,6 
5 392 765 
2 696 382 

1. 

1 
2 
3 

The  application  was  presented  to  the  Commission  on  29  February  2012  and 
supplemented by additional information up to 15 May 2012. 

OJ C 139, 14.6.2006, p. 1. 
OJ L 406, 30.12.2006, p. 1. 
In accordance with the third paragraph of Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006. 

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2. 

The application meets the conditions for deploying the EGF as set out in Article 2(a) 
of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1927/2006,  and  was  submitted  within  the  deadline  of  10 
weeks referred to in Article 5 of that Regulation. 

Link  between  the  redundancies  and  major  structural  changes  in  world  trade  patterns 
due to globalisation 

3. 

4. 

In order to establish the link between the redundancies and major structural changes 
in  world  trade  patterns  due  to  globalisation,  Ireland  argues  that  Talk  Talk  was  a 
customer service centre based in Waterford, originally set up to provide services for 
both  the  companies  Talk  Talk  UK  and  AOL  UK.  The  company  supported  Talk 
Talk’s  UK  market  for  broadband,  voice  and,  more  recently,  for  TV  via  inbound, 
outbound,  email  and  white  mail  services.  Following  the  purchase  of  the  UK’s  ISP 
division  of  AOL,  broadband  services  under  the  AOL  Broadband  brand  were  also 
provided. 

Talk  Talk  offered  telecoms  services  to  residential  Irish  customers  under  the  Talk 
Talk  and  AOL  brands  and  to  business  customers  under  the  Opal  brand.  It  also 
provided full lifecycle management of Talk Talk’s customers in the UK.  

Talk  Talk  in  Waterford,  as  near-shore  location  for  the  provision  of  shared  services 
for a foreign client (AOL and Talk Talk UK), benefited from the international trend 
over  the  past  decade  known  as  business  process  outsourcing  (BPO).  BPO  typically 
involves  a  company  contracting  specific  operations  or  processes  to  a  third  party 
provider.  Trends  that  are  currently  influencing  the  development  and  location  of 
shared services include:  

• 

• 

• 

• 

Cost Reduction: Growth in BPO services can be attributed to companies' need 
to decrease costs and improve service delivery process. The transition to a BPO 
service model allows companies to increase and decrease capacity quickly and 
more  efficiently  as  determined  by  business  conditions.  Lower  cost  locations 
such  as  India,  with  a  technologically  knowledgeable,  English  speaking 
workforce, continue to win new business in BPO.  

Technology developments have influenced how the industry has developed and 
is  playing  a  greater  role  in  contact  centre  operations  e.g.  voice  over  internet 
protocol (VOIP), e-mail, web-generated queries, automated contact tools, voice 
recognition etc.  

Remote services: The ability to service clients / customers remotely has been 
enabled by improvements in global technology infrastructure. 

Complexity:  Firms  are  outsourcing  a  broader  range  of  increasingly  complex 
business  functions  and  the  original  cost  driven,  primarily  volume  transaction 
model has evolved considerably. 

5. 

Talk Talk grew very rapidly, both by acquisition and organically. Between 2005 and 
2011, it grew from no broadband customers to over four million. This rapid growth 
happened  when  the  company  acquired  UK  internet  service  providers  such  as  One 
Tel, AOL and Tiscali and offered free broadband services to the UK market. It gave 
Talk  Talk  a  call  centre  "estate"  of  24  centres  in  Ireland,  the  UK,  India,  the 

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6. 

7. 

Philippines and South Africa. These centres had been handling millions of calls per 
week  in  the  past.  To  address  the  new  challenges,  Talk  Talk  rationalised  its  IT 
systems, improved and simplified its business processes, and reorganised its brands, 
customer offering and organisation into one company i.e. Talk Talk Group plc, down 
from nine companies previously. 

One major result of these actions was that the volume of calls to Talk Talk centres 
was reduced dramatically, particularly in the five or six months before the Waterford 
facility closure, to the extent of up to a 40 % volumetric reduction. 

Talk  Talk  reduced  its  number  of  call  centres  from  24  to  13.  The  Waterford 
redundancies were a direct result of the company’s decision to consolidate activities 
both in the UK and with three chosen outsourcers. In 2011, the company adopted a 
strategic alliances with three key non-EU providers where a significant bulk of work 
is being transferred. These third country providers are Wipro in India, Transcom in 
the  Phillipines,  and  CCI  in  South  Africa.  As  a  result,  some  80 %  of  Talk  Talk 
volumes are now estimated by the company to be handled outside the EU. Talk Talk 
has moved towards a primarily outsourced call services model with some specialist 
activities being retained in the United Kingdom only, and this has resulted in the loss 
of the entire Waterford based operation.  

Demonstration  of  the  number  of  redundancies  and  compliance  with  the  criteria  of 
Article 2(a) 

8. 

9. 

Ireland  submitted  this  application  under  the  intervention  criteria  of  Article  2(a)  of 
Regulation  (EC)  No  1927/2006,  which  requires  at  least  500  redundancies  over  a 
four-month  period  in  an  enterprise  in  a  Member  State,  including  workers  made 
redundant in its suppliers and downstream producers. 

The  application  cites  586  redundancies  in  Talk  Talk  Broadband  Services  (Ireland) 
Limited  and  three  of  its  suppliers  during  the  four-month  reference  period  from  7 
September  2011  to  7  January  2012  and  a  further  six  redundancies  outside  the 
reference  period,  but  related  to  the  same  collective  redundancies  procedure.  All  of 
the redundancies from Talk Talk (573) were calculated in accordance with the third 
indent of the second paragraph of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006. The 
Commission  has  received  confirmation  from  Ireland  that  all  of  these  redundancies 
have  meanwhile  been  effected.  The  redundancies  from  the  suppliers  (19)  were 
counted  according  to  the  first  indent  of  the  second  paragraph  of  Article  2  of 
Regulation (EC) 1927/2006. 

Explanation of the unforeseen nature of those redundancies 

10. 

The Irish authorities argue that there were two previous rounds of redundancy (April 
2010 and April 2011) with an estimated 50 persons per instance. These were viewed 
as  representing  management  restructuring  which  would  allow  for  the  Waterford 
operation to be managed directly from UK headquarters. In addition, while there was 
an  estimated  40 %  decrease  in  the  volume  of  calls  to  the  Talk  Talk  centre  in 
Waterford,  there  was  nothing  to  suggest  that  the  complete  closure  of  the  centre,  as 
transpired with the complete closure in October 2011, with the consequential loss of 
all employment, was being considered by the company.  

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Identification of the dismissing enterprises and workers targeted for assistance 

11. 

The  application  relates  to  592  redundancies,  of  which  573  occurred  in  Talk  Talk 
Broadband Servives (Ireland) Limited and a further 19 in three of its suppliers, i.e. 
AA  Security  Services  (four  redundancies),  Campbells  Catering  trading  as  Aramark 
(seven redundancies) and Noonan Services Group Ltd (eight redundancies). 

12. 

The break-down of the targeted workers is as follows: 

Category 
Men 
Women 
EU citizens 
Non EU citizens 
15-24 years old 
25-54 years old 
55-64 years old 
> 64 years old 

Number
237
195
426
6
48
371
12
1

Percent 
54,86 
45,14 
98,61 
1,39 
11,11 
85,88 
2,78 
0,23 

13. 

A survey of the redundant workers found that some 74 % were between the ages of 
20 and 35, with the median age being 26. 

There  are  no  workers  with  longstanding  health  problem  or  disability  among  the 
affected or targeted workers. 

14. 

In terms of occupational categories, the break-down is as follows: 

Category 
Sales 
Customer services 
Customer technical support 
IT 
Catering Assistant 
Cleaning operative 
Security 
Other 

Number
114
173
96
6
5
6
3
29

Percent 
26,39 
40,05 
22,22 
1,39 
1,16 
1,39 
0,69 
6,71 

15. 

16. 

The 'other' occupations were typically associated with the back office management in 
Talk Talk – general administration, finance, and facilities management. 

In  accordance  with  Article  7  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1927/2006,  Ireland  has 
confirmed  that  a  policy  of  equality  between  women  and  men  as  well  as  non-
discrimination has been applied, and will continue to apply, during the various stages 
of the implementation of and, in particular, in access to the EGF. 

Description of the territory concerned and its authorities and stakeholders 

17. 

18. 

The Talk Talk facility was located on the outskirts of Waterford City in the NUTS III 
South  East  Region  of  Ireland.  In  2011,  Waterford  City  had  the  fifth  largest  urban 
population in the State of Ireland with a population of 51 203. 

Agriculture remains a significant employer in the region, with 9,6 % of the regional 
workforce, more than twice the State average and higher than any other region. The 

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proportion involved in industry / manufacturing is also above the average nationally. 
Although  services  employment  has  grown  in  the  surrounding  region  (NUTS  III 
South  East),  the  proportion  employed  there  (37,5 %)  is  lower  than  the  national 
average (40,5 %). 

19. 

In  relation  to  the  labour  force  educational  attainment,  there  is  a  significantly  lower 
percentage  of  those  in  the  labour  market  in  the  South  East  region  with  third  level 
qualifications  (34 %)  compared  to  the  national  average  (40 %).  The  percentage  of 
those  with  a  highest  educational  attainment  of  lower  secondary  level  and  below  in 
the South East is high (23 %) compared to the national average (19 %). 

Compared to other regions, the South East’s industrial base has not developed strong 
clusters  in specific  areas that can  help  attract  future  investments.  The  multinational 
sector  is  proportionately  smaller  than  in  other  regions.  The  region  and  the  city  of 
Waterford in particular has been hit by a series of major redundancies in recent years 
including  over  650  redundancies  at  the  Waterford  Crystal  facility  at  Kilbarry  and 
ancillary  enterprises  which  were  the  subject  of  a  separate  EGF  application 
(EGF/2009/012  IE/Waterford  Crystal).  These  mass  redundancies  have  had  a  major 
adverse  impact  on  the  workers  involved,  Waterford  City  and  its  hinterland  and  the 
wider South East region. 

Apart  from  the  national  stakeholders,  i.e.  the  responsible  government  Departments 
and  Agencies,  the  more  local  stakeholders  are  the  Talk  Talk  Redundant  Workers' 
Committee,  Waterford  City  Council,  Waterford  Area  Partnership  Board,  Waterford 
Chamber of Commerce and local service providers such as FÁS / SOLAS, Waterford 
Chamber  Skillnet,  Contact  Centre  Management  Association  Skillnet  (national  call 
centre  network),  Waterford  City  and  County  Enterprise  Boards  and  Waterford 
Institute of Technology.  

The  Department  of  Education  and  Skills  (the  main  national  stakeholder  and 
managing  authority)  has  engaged  with  representatives  of  the  redundant  workers  at 
both political (ministerial) and official levels. The views of the representatives were 
sought  in  preparing  the  EGF  application  in  order  to  ascertain  the  most  appropriate 
measures to enable redundant workers to improve their employability prospects and 
to be kept in contact with the labour force. Written proposals from stakeholders were 
received and taken into consideration in the framing of the EGF application. 

20. 

21. 

Expected impact of the redundancies as regards local, regional or national employment 

22. 

23. 

The  South  East  region  has  had  persistently  higher  than  average  levels  of 
unemployment  compared  to  the  rest  of  the  country.  In  addition,  it  has  fared 
disproportionately badly as a result of the financial and economic crisis. Since 2007, 
the region’s unemployment rate has jumped from 4,9 % to 18,2 % in 2011 compared 
to a national average of 14,3 %. The 18,2 % unemployment rate was the highest of 
all regions in 2011. 

Over the period September 2011 to January 2012 when the Talk Talk redundancies 
were  effected,  the  numbers  of  unemployed  on  the  unemployment  register  for 
Waterford City increased from 11 529 to 12 193 (+ 5,76 %) compared to a national 
increase from 437 441 to 439 589 i.e. just + 0,49 %. 

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24. 

25. 

26. 

After  a  period  of  sustained  growth,  employment  levels  in  the  region  have  declined 
significantly over the past three years. There were almost 35 000 less people at work 
in  the  region  at  Q1  /  2011  than  in  2008,  when  employment  peaked  at  223 000. 
Labour force participation rates have dropped from 62,7 % in 2007 to 58,1 % in 2011 
(below the State average). 

In addition, during the period from Q4 / 2010 to Q3 / 2011 numbers employed in the 
NACE section N 'Administrative and support service activities' (which includes the 
NACE  Call  centre  division  82  corresponding  to  the  Talk  Talk  operation)  increased 
from  58 700  to  65 900  for  the  State  as  a  whole,  but  decreased  for  the  South  East 
region from 6 400 to 4 800, highlighting the limited potential for the sector to create 
new employment opportunities for the redundant workers. 

The  loss  in  revenues  owing  to  the  Talk  Talk  redundancies  is  also  expected  to 
generate  significant  losses  in  indirect  employment  through  the  loss  in  workers' 
disposable incomes and through a reduction in Talk Talk's purchases of Irish goods 
and services locally and regionally.  

Co-ordinated  package  of  personalised  services  to  be  funded  and  a  breakdown  of  its 
estimated  costs,  including  its  complementarity  with  actions  funded  by  the  Structural 
Funds 

27. 

The main actions can be summarised as follows : 

–  Guidance and career planning: The services provided under this measure include 
individualised  profiling,  needs 
learning  assessment,  CV 
preparation, career guidance, job search assistance and other related supports and 
advice  to  redundant  workers.  A  range  of  bodies  are  involved  in  providing  their 
services to assist the redundant workers during this phase and thereafter. 

identification, 

This process commenced swiftly on foot of the announced closure of the Talk Talk 
facility  in  September  2011  through  initial  FÁS  /  SOLAS  interventions.  A  tailored 
certificate  in  career  development  and  skills  enhancement  is  also  being  run  to  assist 
the  redundant  workers  to  assess  their  potentiality  in  terms  of  recognition  of  prior 
learning,  personal  development  and  study  skills  and  to  provide  the  opportunity  to 
sample relevant and appropriate educational pathways. 

–  Training  programmes:  Redundant  workers  have,  upon  consultation,  expressed 
interest  in  a  wide  range  of  training  areas  including  computing,  business, 
accountancy, sales, office skills, graphic art, beauty care, child care etc. Training 
will be provided both directly by State providers and also through private sector 
trainers via the EGF training grant, which allows applicants to identify and select 
approved training programmes outside of the services provided by FÁS and other 
State agencies. Specific internship, work placements, work experience, traineeship 
and  community-oriented  training  programmes  will  also  be  a  feature  of  some 
training interventions, where appropriate. 

–  Further  education  and  higher  education  courses:  The  majority  of  courses  are 
accredited  on  the  National  Framework  of  Qualifications.  Programmes  can  be 
offered at the times and places that most suit the learners' circumstances. Where 
possible, the use of additional dynamic tailored courses and programmes will be 
considered. 

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Emphasis  will  be  placed  initially  on  assessing  those  considering  higher  education 
pathways,  their  skills  sets  and  suitability  to  enter  particular  courses  or  whether 
preparatory  courses  or  alternative  options  in  other  support  areas  are  more 
appropriate.  Due  to  the  time  constraints  of  the  EGF  implementation  period,  EGF 
funding  will  not  be  provided  for  courses  which  exceed  the  EGF  implementation 
period. As such, third level supports will be confined to those courses which can be 
completed  either  entirely,  or  on  a  strictly  modular  basis,  within  the  EGF 
implementation period and may include specifically tailored courses in this context. 
It is worth noting as an innovative measure that Waterford Institute of Technology is 
designing  an  accelerated  Bachelor  of  Science  course  (Level  7)  specifically  for  the 
targeted group of workers, which will include existing modules and bespoke modules 
that  address  identified  skills  shortages  in  the  science  and  related  areas,  for 
completion within the EGF implementation period. 

–  EGF  training  grant:  This  will  also  enable  redundant  workers  to  access  privately 
provided  third  level  courses  where  these  are  not  available  through  the  publicly 
to  a  redundant  worker’s  particular 
funded  system  or  are  not  suitable 
circumstances. This approach has proved beneficial in previous EGF programmes 
in Ireland. 

–  Skillnets  training:  Skillnets  is  a  State  funded,  enterprise-led  support  body 
dedicated to the promotion and facilitation of training and upskilling. It supports 
and  funds  networks  of  enterprises  to  engage  in  training  under  the  Training 
Networks Programme. These networks, now referred to as 'Skillnets', are led and 
managed  by  the  enterprises  themselves,  to  design,  manage  and  deliver  specific 
training  programmes  across  a  broad  range  of  industry  and  service  sectors 
nationwide. 

Skillnets  provide  training  to  former  Talk Talk  employees  through  two  of  Skillnets’ 
training  networks  -  CCMA  Ireland  Skillnet  and  Waterford  Chamber  Skillnet. 
Courses on offer include Customer Service, Broadband Service Skills and Frontline 
Technical  Support  for  call  centres.  Courses  on  offer  for  those  looking  for  a  career 
change include Creativity for Entrepreneurship, Start your own Business and Project 
Management.  Already  a  number  of  call  centre  companies  have  offered  job 
placements  to  former  TalkTalk  staff  as  part  of  the  Skillnets  training  programme 
package, and it is expected that this will lead to some job offers in the near future. 

–  Enterprise  /  self-employment  supports:  Enterprise  and  self-employment  support 
will  be  delivered  through  the  relevant  City  and  County  Enterprise  Boards  in  the 
South East Region, or other relevant structures. A wide array of supports are being 
made  available  to  redundant  workers  who  are  contemplating  starting  their  own 
businesses,  including  introductory  modules,  workshops,  mentoring,  business 
planning and grant aid to assist with self-employment and start-up costs. 

–  Training, education and enterprise allowances: Depending on the provider of the 
education, training or enterprise schemes, various allowances are available to the 
redundant workers in lieu of social welfare payments. 

–  EGF  course  expenses  contribution:  In  order  to  increase  the  accessibility  of  EGF 
co-financed  supports,  a  limited  EGF  Course  Expenses  Contribution  scheme  will 
be  paid  towards  the  cost  of  travel,  subsistence,  course  equipment  and  materials 

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28. 

29. 

etc.  This  contribution  will  help  to  facilitate  an  individual’s  access  to  relevant 
courses  and  seeks  to  increase  participation  by  the  eligible  redundant  workers  in 
the pursuance of EGF co-financed measures and opportunities, where appropriate. 

The expenditure for implementing the EGF, which is included in the application in 
accordance  with  Article  3  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1927/2006,  covers  preparatory, 
management  and  control  activities  as  well  as  information  and  publicity.  The 
somewhat  higher  amount  at  5,6 %  of  the  total  reflects,  inter  alia,  the  early 
establishment  of  the  EGF  Co-ordination  Unit  in  Waterford  to  deliver  strong  co-
ordinated  interventions  to  the  redundant  employees.  Furthermore,  the  Department 
proposes  to  engage  external  auditors  to  conduct  appropriate  validation  checks.  It  is 
also expected that an additional resource will be required by the County Enterprise 
Board  in  Waterford  to  manage  applications  in  respect  of  enterprise  and  self-
employment supports. 

The personalised services presented by the Irish authorities are active labour market 
measures  within  the  eligible  actions  defined  by  Article  3  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 
1927/2006.  The  Irish  authorities  estimate  the  total  costs  of  these  services  at 
EUR 5 092 765  and  the  expenditure  for  implementing  the  EGF  at  EUR 300 000 
(5,6 %  of  the  total  amount).  The  total  contribution  requested  from  the  EGF  is 
EUR 2 696 382 (50 % of the total costs). 

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Actions 

Estimated 
number of 
workers 
targeted 

Estimated 
cost per 
worker 
targeted 
(EUR) 

Total costs 
(EGF and 
national 
cofinancing) 
(EUR) 

Personalised services (first paragraph of Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006) 

Guidance and career planning 

Training programmes 

Further and higher education courses 

EGF training grant 

Skillsnets training 

Enterprise / self-employment supports 

Training, education and enterprise allowances 

EGF course expenses contribution (instances) 

Sub total personalised services 

110

134

205

119

260

370

145

432

487,27 

53 600

2 745,71 

367 925

7 395,02 

1 515 980

2 600,84 

309 500

1 076,92 

280 000

2 600,00 

962 000

3 612,14 

523 760

2 500,00 

1 080 000

5 092 765

Expenditure  for  implementing  EGF  (third  paragraph  of  Article  3  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 
1927/2006) 

Preparatory activities 

Management 

Information and publicity 

Control activities 

Sub total expenditure for implementing EGF 

Total estimated costs 

EGF contribution (50 % of total costs) 

10 000

250 000

20 000

20 000

300 000

5 392 765

2 696 382

30. 

Ireland confirms that the measures described above are complementary with actions 
funded  by  the  Structural  Funds  and  that  measures  are  in  place  to  ensure  that  no 
double  funding  can  occur.  The  Irish  authorities  have  established  a  Monitoring 
Committee for the Coordination of EU Funds under the National Strategic Reference 
Framework  in  accordance  with  Article  27(5)  (b)  of  Regulation  1083/2006 
encompassing  ESF,  EFF  and  EAFRD.  The  Department  of  Public  Expenditure  and 
Reform chairs the Committee which discusses any issues of relevance including the 
demarcation of funds in operational programmes and any implementation issues that 
may  arise  and  any  plans  for  new  programmes  to  ensure  that  Funds  are  not 

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overlapping.  In  addition,  as  part  of  the  implementation  process  for  the  ESF  and 
ERDF, a group was established and is chaired and co-ordinated by the Department of 
Public  Expenditure  and  Reform, 
the 
implementation  of  the  Structural  Funds  for  the  2007-2013  period.  Since  2010,  the 
EGF has been included in this process. 

to  deal  with  any 

issues  relating 

to 

Date(s)  on  which  the  personalised  services  to  the  affected  workers  were  started  or  are 
planned to start 

31. 

Ireland started the personalised services to the affected workers included in the co-
ordinated package proposed for co-financing to the EGF on 7 September 2011. This 
date therefore represents the beginning of the period of eligibility for any assistance 
that might be awarded from the EGF. 

Procedures for consulting the social partners 

32. 

As there was no trade union involved in Talk Talk, the EGF Managing Authority has 
been  in  discussions  with  the  redundant  workers'  representatives  both  directly  and 
through a local group of stakeholders and service providers chaired by the Waterford 
City Manager (see also point 20 above). 

33. 

The Irish authorities confirmed that the requirements laid down in national and EU 
legislation concerning collective redundancies have been complied with. 

Information  on  actions  that  are  mandatory  by  virtue  of  national  law  or  pursuant  to 
collective agreements 

34. 

As regards the criteria contained in Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006, the 
Irish authorities in their application: 

•  confirmed that the financial contribution from the EGF does not replace measures 
which are the responsibility of companies by virtue of national law or collective 
agreements; 

•  demonstrated that the actions provide support for individual workers and are not 

to be used for restructuring companies or sectors; 

•  confirmed  that  the  eligible  actions  referred  to  above  do  not  receive  assistance 

from other EU financial instruments. 

Management and control systems  

35. 

36. 

Ireland has notified the Commission that the financial contribution will be managed 
by  the  designated  staff  of  the  Department  of  Education  and  Skills,  who  have  been 
appointed as the EGF Managing Authority. The Managing Authority examines and 
pays EGF claims submitted by Intermediate Bodies on behalf of public expenditure 
bodies. 

Intermediate  Bodies  are  responsible  for  claiming  EGF  funding  from  the  Managing 
Authority  and  in  most  cases  for  its  disbursement.  Intermediate  Bodies  are  also 
responsible  for  verification  that  the  purpose,  scope  and  scale  of  funding  is 
appropriate  within  the  terms  of  the  EGF  application.  In  addition,  they  ensure  that 

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37. 

38. 

39. 

monitoring and adequate recording and internal control procedures in relation to all 
EGF-related expenditure and claims are established by public beneficiary bodies and 
duly documented. 

The  EGF  Certifying  Authority  is  resonsible  for  the  certification  of  expenditure 
statements  related  to  EGF  co-financed  measures.  In  doing  so,  the  Certifying 
Authority  satisfies  itself  on  compliance  with  all  requirements  relating  to  the 
accuracy, legality, eligibility and regularity of expenditure.  

Independent  bodies  performing  second-level  checks  ensure  that  the  declaration  of 
final  expenditure  by  the  public  beneficiary  bodies  in  respect  of  all  paid  interim 
claims is accurate and supported by a clear audit trail and make a formal declaration 
to the Managing Authority of the total amount of eligible expenditure. 

The Secretary General, as Accounting Officer for the Department of Education and 
Skills with responsibility for EGF, has delegated specific statutory responsibility for 
certifying claims to an appropriate officer at each level of the 'cascade' arrangement 
of  monitoring  and  verification  of  EGF  services  and  expenditure.  This  ensures  that 
there  can  be  no  overruling  or  undue  influence  on  these  persons  by  more  senior 
officers in the management chain. It thus underpins their individual authority and the 
segregation of duties and controls during the implementation of the EGF application. 

Financing 

40. 

41. 

42. 

43. 

On the basis of the application from Ireland, the proposed contribution from the EGF 
to  the  coordinated  package  of  personalised  services  (including  expenditure  to 
implement  EGF)  is  EUR 2 696 382,  representing  50 %  of  the  total  cost.  The 
Commission's proposed allocation under the Fund is based on the information made 
available by Ireland. 

Considering the maximum possible amount of a financial contribution from the EGF 
under  Article  10(1)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1927/2006,  as  well  as  the  scope  for 
reallocating  appropriations,  the  Commission  proposes  to  mobilise  the  EGF  for  the 
total  amount  referred  to  above,  to  be  allocated  under  heading  1a  of  the  financial 
framework. 

The  proposed  amount  of  financial  contribution  will  leave  more  than  25 %  of  the 
maximum annual amount earmarked for the EGF available for allocations during the 
last  four  months  of  the  year,  as  required  by  Article  12(6)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 
1927/2006. 

By  presenting  this  proposal  to  mobilise  the  EGF,  the  Commission  initiates  the 
simplified  trialogue  procedure,  as  required  by  Point  28  of  the  Interinstitutional 
Agreement of 17 May 2006, with a view to securing the agreement of the two arms 
of the budgetary authority on the need to use the EGF and the amount required. The 
Commission invites the first of the two arms of the budgetary authority that reaches 
agreement on the draft mobilisation proposal, at appropriate political level, to inform 
the other arm and the Commission of its intentions. In case of disagreement by either 
of  the  two  arms  of  the  budgetary  authority,  a  formal  trialogue  meeting  will  be 
convened. 

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44. 

The Commission presents separately a transfer request in order to enter in the 2012 
budget  specific  commitment  appropriations,  as  required  in  Point  28  of  the 
Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006. 

Source of payment appropriations  

45. 

Appropriations  on  the  EGF  budget  line  will  be  used  to  cover  the  amount  of 
EUR 2 696 382 needed for the present application. 

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Proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund in accordance with 
point 28 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the European 
Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound 
financial management (application EGF/2012/001 IE/Talk Talk from Ireland) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, 

Having  regard  to  the  Interinstitutional  Agreement  of  17  May  2006  between  the  European 
Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission  on  budgetary  discipline  and  sound  financial 
management4, and in particular point 28 thereof, 

Having  regard  to  Regulation  (EC)  No  1927/2006  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  20  December  2006  establishing  the  European  Globalisation  Adjustment  Fund5, 
and in particular Article 12(3) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission6, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

The  European  Globalisation  Adjustment  Fund  (EGF)  was  established  to  provide 
additional support for workers made redundant as a result of major structural changes 
in world trade patterns due to globalisation and to assist them with their reintegration 
into the labour market. 

The Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 allows the mobilisation of the EGF 
within the annual ceiling of EUR 500 million. 

Ireland submitted an application to mobilise the EGF, in respect of redundancies in the 
enterprise Talk Talk Broadband Services (Ireland) Limited and three of its suppliers, 
on  29  February  2012  and  supplemented  it  by  additional  information  up  to  15  May 
2012.  This  application  complies  with  the  requirements  for  determining  the  financial 
contributions  as  laid  down  in  Article  10  of  Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006.  The 
Commission, therefore, proposes to mobilise an amount of EUR 2 696 382. 

(4) 

The EGF should, therefore, be mobilised in order to provide a financial contribution 
for the application submitted by Ireland, 

4 
5 
6 

OJ C 139, 14.6.2006, p. 1. 
OJ L 406, 30.12.2006, p. 1. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 

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HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 

For  the  general  budget  of  the  European  Union  for  the  financial  year  2012,  the  European 
Globalisation  Adjustment  Fund  (EGF)  shall  be  mobilised  to  provide  the  sum  of 
EUR 2 696 382 in commitment and payment appropriations. 

Article 2 

This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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