Mr. Neil McGowan:

I will be brief. The experience with employers to date has been mixed. The responsible employers have entered into negotiations and collective agreements with us, aimed at trying to maintain people's incomes throughout the period. The one thing that is clear is that as the wage supports have changed, whether through the initial decrease when moving from the TWSS to the EWSS or the most recent increase in the employment wage subsidy scheme benefit that was available to employers when the country moved to level 5, that has enabled us to increase people's incomes with employers. That recently happened at Aer Lingus. If we are to adopt a genuine short-time working scheme in consultation with employers, the Government and trade unions, that would leave us in a position whereby we will be able to protect people's incomes.