Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We covered the Department of Finance measures earlier but I apologise to the Minister that I was not in the Chamber to hear his reply. He will recall that in my previous contribution, I raised the issue of employers that seek to engage on the temporary wage subsidy scheme and issues that may arise with creditors and insolvency. I referred to the potential for them to trade recklessly or fraudulently and all that arises from that, and to the exposure of employers that may wish to get involved in that scheme. The Minister may have already addressed that point in his earlier response, but if he considers it inappropriate to comment further on it at this juncture, given that we are discussing social protection issues, we might develop the point a little more on Committee Stage with his permission and that of the House.

I pay tribute to the work being done by thousands of members of staff at Intreo offices and at the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection over the past two weeks in particular. An extraordinary amount of work has been done to support those who are in unprecedentedly difficult circumstances. Nobody predicted we would ever be at this point but the response from the system has been extraordinary. I wish to put on record my support for staff at the Department and the work they are doing. I hope the Minister is satisfied that the Department has sufficient staff to process the number of claims coming through the Department at this time and the anticipated number of claims that are, unfortunately, expected over the next few weeks. Is it the intention of the Department to engage additional staff on a temporary basis or is it the case that the Department envisages engaging staff from the wider Civil Service to assist in the work that staff are doing at present to process the volume of applications for support? I ask that at all times, notwithstanding the legislation that will govern the new payments, a wide degree of discretion and flexibility be shown by the Department to ensure that those who need the support most will receive it at this unprecedented time.

Our amendment relating to the Redundancy Payments Act is important. There has been mixed advice, and I am sure the Minister will later share the advice that the Department received, in respect of the requirement to make the amendment we have proposed. A similar amendment has been tabled in the name of Deputy Ó Broin of Sinn Féin. We want to ensure that in the event that workers laid off over the next period are subject to selection for redundancy at some point in the future, the period of layoff will be considered to be continuity of service for the purposes of calculating their redundancy entitlements. We do not want to expose people to such problems somewhere down the line, inadvertently or otherwise.

I fully support the measures that are to be introduced in respect of civil registration, which are obviously required.

The issue of short-time work was mentioned in Deputy Brady's contribution. Many people have been placed on short-time work in recent weeks. There appears to be a question mark over their ability to qualify for the pandemic unemployment payment. We do not want those on short-time work to be treated worse or to be at a less advantageous position to those in receipt of the payment.

That is unfair and inequitable. It is an anomaly that has arisen. I understand and appreciate that the Department has been rushing to try to ensure we have some form of payment available to as wide a number of people as possible to get us through these circumstances. It is an anomaly that has arisen and I would appreciate it if the Minister will explore that in his response.

Of course, all of these payments are being targeted at people of working age and there are some anomalies around those who are under 18 and who are working full-time but are out of education and who do not qualify for the payments. Similarly, there are those who over the age of 66, as referenced by Deputy O'Gorman in his contribution.

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