Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise another issue that has come to the fore in the past week. Many small businesses have reopened, are coming under immense pressure from landlords in respect of their rents and are looking for repayment plans. Many people who have contacted me, particularly from small businesses, have said the pressure they are already coming under is intense. It might not just yet have come to the fore in vast volume but I suspect that in the coming weeks and months it will be a major issue. When I raised this matter with the then Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Humphreys, she responded that it is up to the business owner and the landlord. Does Mr. Moran believe that the Government should play a role in this in light of the pressure it is putting people under? Some local businesspeople have said that if their landlords continue to insist on specific repayment plans, it will put their businesses under enormous pressure, to the point where it may have to close.