Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)

-----who cannot defend themselves because it is a lobby that has not formed yet as it comprises future widows and widowers. I find it regrettable that she should attempt to target that.

The Government has targeted the redundancy rebate scheme. In selling and marketing this change, the focus has been on TalkTalk whenever headlines have been generated on the matter. Unfortunately most businesses that are laying off people at the moment are doing so because they are on the breadline and are trying to keep their businesses operating. Reducing the State rebate from 60% to 15% could be the death-knell for many of those companies that are already struggling to stay in business. The Government needs to revisit this and find a way whereby companies in that situation can apply and continue to get the level of rebate they would have in the past.

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