Cabinet agrees €178m settlement for 1,700 former Waterford Crystal staff

The Cabinet has agreed to a €178m settlement to end a legal dispute taken by workers at Waterford Crystal.

Ministers agreed to the settlement this morning, after a lengthy legal battle was taken by workers who were laid off when their employer was wound up in 2009.

More than 1,700 workers will benefit from the payments, after the European Court of Justice found that the State had to step in to pay their pensions after their private scheme went bust.

The Tánaiste Joan Burton says the deal will bring comfort to the former workers.

She said: "The average payments are relatively modest and the average lump-sum payment will be in the region of about €20,000.

"So, people with 40 years service will obviously get more, but there would be many people who would not have that length of service so as to qualify for a much higher lump sum."