Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Will the Minister clarify the treatment of the wage subsidy scheme for employees who live across the Border, in particular those who have been temporarily laid off and perhaps taken back onto the payroll of their employers? Will they be able to avail of this scheme? The Government and its Ministers will be aware of this issue and I heard the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, address it in regard to the pandemic unemployment payment. As somebody who comes from a Border constituency, I know we have had a huge number of representations in regard to people who are working in the Twenty-six Counties but who live across the Border and are not able to avail of the pandemic unemployment payment, despite the fact they are paying their taxes and PRSI, and contributing to the economic well-being of this jurisdiction. This is very harsh, given there are many such cases.

With regard to section 27, which is connected because it affects the childcare sector, the scheme supports workers and parents but does not support those manager-operators who have provided the service and who were basically employees, but never classed themselves as employees. The smaller operators are hammered under this scheme. To give one example from my own neck of the woods, a service which caters for some 15 children will get support of just €34 per week to cover the wages of the manager, who is the main childcare provider, and all the running costs of the service. That service is not unique and there are many others. Unless this issue is dealt with quickly, these individuals will close their doors and will not be able to reopen. As we talk about a multi-billion euro support for workers and employers, it is crucial we are in a position to sustain the childcare sector, in particular those rural childcare sector providers that do not have the number of employees to allow them to get that large quantity, based on the 15%. It is also crucial that the managers, who are employees but never classed themselves as employees, are also supported during this period.

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