David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste and his officials for coming before the committee. I have been contacted by many business people who have said that without the supports put in place by the Department they would have been completely wiped out. It has helped them to survive and stay in business and many have said they are extremely grateful for that.

There are a number of novel issues that have arisen. A massive amount of money is involved. The Minister spoke of the destructive innovation fund which is being increased by €10 million. That sounds very interesting and I like the idea of destructive technology. What is the thinking behind that?

The trading online voucher scheme is something I have received a lot of positive feedback on. There have been 14,000 applications and approximately 11,000 were approved, under Vote 32. Has the Department received feedback on the scheme's effectiveness?

Another innovative item is the lean business continuity voucher. That is quite new. Will the Minister tell us more about that?

There were 98 applications for the enterprise centre scheme. We do not know how many have been approved or when that might happen. How does that work? Is it through the local authorities? What types of enterprise are involved?

I acknowledge the Tánaiste's support for the open doors initiative, which was launched two years ago. Many companies have come together to support people on the margins and people from disadvantaged backgrounds who find it hard to get employment, such as migrants, Travellers and people with disabilities. That initiative has been extraordinarily successful. I note the transfer of employment functions from the Department of Social Protection. The Tánaiste's Department is now the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. I ask the Tánaiste to take a look at the open doors initiative. It has been so successful. It could do with some support. It is helping people to get jobs and to get training and internships, etc. There might be a way of assisting it.

The Tánaiste spoke about people without premises. I have been contacted by several such businesses, most recently a man whose livelihood involved going around various festivals, concerts and similar events. He was working from a van, selling doughnuts and that kind of thing. He was completely self-sustained and had never looked for support or help from the State, but he is now under ferocious pressure because there are still costs with insurance on the van and so on. There does not seem to be a fund where he can get help. He can get the EWSS and that kind of thing but he is caught with the fund for fixed costs. The hospitality sector is another area of interest. Upstream, the suppliers into the hotels and restaurants need a lead-in time to gear up but are also a bit stranded. Will the Tánaiste comment on that?

We are faced with two major shocks, with Brexit at one end and Covid at the other. One of those on its own would be bad enough but the two together amount to almost biblical proportions. It is hard to figure out what will happen because it has happened so fast. I commend the Department for what it has done. I have pointed many businesses to the Department's website which is excellent. It gives a lot of information in a simple way and many businesses have been very grateful because it can be difficult to figure a way through the maze of what is available. How the website is presented is very good, and it is updated constantly so that it is up to date which is hugely important.