Section 9(2) of Protection of Employment Act, as amended, imposes an obligation on an employer proposing collective redundancies to initiate consultations with employees' representatives representing the employees affected by the proposed redundancies. These consultations include: 

• the possibility of avoiding the proposed redundancies, reducing the number of employees affected by them or otherwise mitigating their consequences by recourse to accompanying social measures aimed, inter alia, at aid for redeploying or retraining employees made redundant;
• the basis on which it will be decided which particular employees will be made redundant.

Alternatives to redundancy can sometimes involve states agencies, such as IDA (Industrial Development Authority) Ireland, particularly if the proposed job losses are in a locality where the job reductions have a more severe effect on the local employment levels.

Collective redundancies, for the purpose of the act, are defined as: at least 5 in an establishment normally employing more than 20 and less than 50 employees, at least 10 in an establishment normally employing at least 50 but less than 100 employees, at least 10% of the number of employees in an establishment normally employing at least 100 but less than 300 employees, and at least 30 in an establishment normally employing 300 or more employees.