Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I understand the point the Deputy is making, but there is not the rationale to implement what she is suggesting. As she said herself, none of us here could figure out what date to use for the ending of this measure or how we could judge that aspect. The rationale the State has taken here is a pre-emptive one. We recognise that neither employees nor employers are responsible for this situation. The restrictions prevented people from working and they were temporarily laid off. Section 12A prevented employees from triggering redundancies themselves. That measure ended in September 2021, and it was the initial link with this legislation.

We have gone beyond that now in the last few months to try to include those impacted by the restrictions which remained in some sectors. I do not think we can go beyond that, however, and I do not see how we could do so. Since the lifting of restrictions, we have expected employers to make the relevant decisions that are right for their businesses, whether that is to bring their staff back to work or to make the difficult decision to make them redundant. There will be fallout from the impact of Covid-19 well into the future. Naturally, through all our Departments, but mainly through this Department's supports for businesses, the number of people affected by such decisions should not be high and we will do all we can to prevent people from losing their jobs and to protect those jobs.

We have proven our intent in that regard. This legislation goes as far as it can go and this amendment brings the situation not in line with the restrictions but beyond it. It is a fair date to have picked. I am not sure we can accommodate another. I understand why the Deputy is asking the question and I accept it, but I do not know how we could accommodate her request or link any such provision to legislation in future. We have made the best attempt here to get this right. It means that anybody laid off because of restrictions the Government put in place is covered.