Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 18 November 2021

Public Accounts Committee

2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Chapter 6 - Covid-19 Restart Grant Schemes

9:30 am

Photo of James O'ConnorJames O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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One particular flaw that has been repeatedly raised with me by councillors in my party - I am sure other colleagues here would agree - regarding the restart grant relates to the geographical imbalance in terms of the grant and the allocation being dependent on each local authority. There is an opportunity here for the Department to look at the geographical breakdown in terms of the different local authorities' administrative areas and examine the ability to work with areas where the Department feels that there are teething problems that we need to be dealt with. If we are going to be dealing with a situation - I hope it does not happen, but it would be prudent for us to plan in this direction - whereby businesses may be forced to close again because of Covid restrictions, then I am of the view that this should be the subject of close scrutiny and analysis by the Department. Depending on where a business is located, and in the context of the remits of certain Departments, it is not fair that it would not be given the same level of support that colleagues in other local authority areas would be when money is being drawn down from the national schemes. I am not having a dig at my own local authority - to be fair to Cork County Council, it has been excellent to deal with - but this matter has been raised to me by other elected representatives from across the country. It can be seen from the data and the analysis that are available to us, as public representatives. Would Dr. Quinn reply on that point, please?