Sorry to hear about your situation.
Is there any way A)I can get them to lift the cap or increase it.
I don't think so - they are only obliged to provide statutory redundancy so anything above that is at their discretion. Is there a union or other joint bargaining entity (committee) who might be able to negotiate on your (and others') behalf?
B) Get the company to pay the tax so I get an actual 1.5 years salary into my hand.
I'm not sure but I doubt it. Sounds dodgy.
c) What happens with my company pension, can I still pay into it.
Is it a defined contribution or defined benefit pension? Usually when one leaves an employer (voluntarily or otherwise) one is given several options in relation to the accumulated occupational pension fund including (a) leave it invested as a paid up plan (b) transfer it to a standalone pension buy out bond (c) transfer it to another company's occupational scheme (d) take a refund of your own personal contributions after deduction of tax (the latter usually only applies for people who have only served a few years in the scheme so is probably not relevant to you). Normally you cannot continue to contribute to the scheme one you have left the job. However you could put in place your own pension arrangements such as a lump sum or regular payments personal pension plan or a PRSA. You should probably talk to your employer's pension scheme consultants or the trustees to be appraised of your options (should be notified to you in writing) and maybe get independent professional advice of your own. Perhaps you could negotiate with your employer to provide such independent advice to you at their expense?
D) I feel the cap is a poor reflection on solid service particularly as the company is profitable. They are planning for the future as part of a worldwide cost cutting to remain so
Sounds like it all right.
E) How should I invest this money or how can I maximise the amount and keep from going going tax
That is a very difficult question to answer. As I mentioned above you may need to get professional independent advice on this as it depends on many issues - e.g. how much pension savings you already have, whether they're defined contribution or defined benefit, what options are available to you on the pension scheme, how long you have to retirement etc. You may get some tips here but there is no substitute for comprehensive professional independent advice in cases such as this. It would most likely be a relatively small amount of money well spent.
F) ANY ADVISE WELCOME AND INDEED LOOKED FOR
Perhaps you could also negotiate with your employer for non monetary benefits on redundancy such as pension advice (above), outplacement support (e.g. time, resources, training for getting alternative employment) and so on?
Here are some other links that might be of interest to you:
www.entemp.ie/
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Good luck.