Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Senator asked about the value of what is currently warehoused. The answer is €2.9 billion, relating to 98,000 individual businesses. It comprises €1.36 billion in VAT and €1.4 billion of employers' PAYE. Clearly, the warehoused sum is large.

On the future of supports, as I have said many times in the Oireachtas, we have to get to a point where the change in public health regulations will allow us to exit these schemes entirely. I reiterate the point I made to Deputy Jim O'Callaghan. The State is now paying the wages, or a large share of the wages, of one in 12 workers in the economy. At the right time, and still in a careful way, we will have to bring that to an end. It is not tenable for us to be in a position whereby there are many employers that cannot get the workers they need while, at the same time, we are paying a large share of the wages of other employers, particularly at a time when public health regulations could be at a very low level in future.

Insofar as the public health regulations allow it, therefore, we will continue with our plan to exit the employment wage subsidy scheme. The first lower payment will issue on 1 February and we will have to see where we are next week with regard to the advice we get from the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, and how the Government responds to it. Beyond the future of the EWSS, as for what the future could hold, the Senator makes a fair point, namely, that while we all hope it will not happen, we have seen the way in which this disease can return quickly. We are aware of how circumstances may change in future. My short to medium-term priority relates to how, when public health conditions allow it, we will exit what we have at the moment. We will then give consideration to whether better schemes are available for the future that will build on what we have done well and that will allow us to build on the insights and learning we have developed in order that, if we find ourselves in a position in future whereby new public health measures are in place and parts of our economy are very adversely affected due to public health regulations that are in place, we might have more agile ways of responding. That is something we will consider.