Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)

Questions have been asked many times regarding payments, but will the Minister of State get the message through to the various Departments and staff that businesses are under immense pressure? The UK immediately brought in a ten day rule, but we have not done so. We are doing quite well in some cases, but whenever there is any problem with red tape, a missing dot on an i or cross on a t, there are very significant delays throughout the Departments. Businesses are under very serious pressure. Get the message through to those doing the work for the Government that this is urgent. It is no longer a joke and it should not require Deputies to make phone calls to speed up payments, whether for social welfare, redundancies, grants or whatever else. It should not be necessary in the current climate. Everyone should have woken up to the position in which we find ourselves. There are problems and those employed by the Government could solve them if they moved at the necessary pace.

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