Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We know and the Minister knows that business thrives on certainty and these are extremely uncertain times. One way we could give businesses some certainty that they could keep their doors open and assist them with their labour costs is to extend the form of the wage subsidy scheme beyond the expiry date of next March.

Would the Minister agree with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, when he said at the committee last week, that if we had, for example, a German style wage subsidy scheme or a short-term work scheme in place when the pandemic first hit, that we potentially could have saved many more businesses and jobs at the outset? Businesses need that certainty that the wages can be paid and the support will be there, and workers need that economic certainty over the next period of time, that there will not be a cliff-edge date of 31 March 2021, where all wage subsidy supports will be removed. That would be catastrophic for incomes, workers and businesses across the country. Does the Minister agree that the wage subsidy scheme, in some form, will need to be extended, given the twin challenges of Covid 19 and Brexit?

It was this time last year that my party proposed a form of a wage subsidy scheme and skills support scheme to mitigate the worst impact of a potential no-deal Brexit. That is coming into view, and businesses need to hear from the Minister and the Minister for Finance about providing that certainty for them beyond the end of next March.