John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Carthy. I offer my condolences to the friends and families of all those who have unfortunately passed away due to the Covid-19 pandemic. My thoughts are with them all. It is a difficult time for many families that have had their lives turned upside down as a result of the health crisis we are experiencing. Many families are experiencing serious financial difficulties as a result of family members becoming unemployed or being put on the wage subsidy scheme. It is at times such as this the safety net of our social protection system is most needed.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all the essential frontline workers who are working throughout this crisis to keep us safe and to ensure other essential services can continue. That includes all of the staff in the Intreo offices across the State who have received and processed more than 389,000 applications for the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment, PUP. Well done to them and I thank each and every one of the members of staff in those offices.

People need clear answers to the many questions they have. Along with other Deputies, I am inundated with questions and it is critical that answers are given to these questions so they get the information they need quickly. Hopefully, today's sitting will give us an opportunity to get some of the answers we so desperately need.

On Tuesday, some 283,000 people received the PUP flat rate payment of €350. Many of these people had applied for this payment several weeks ago and had been living hand to mouth in the interim, while they waited on this critical payment to come. It was not backdated as people had expected. Will this payment be backdated and when can people expect to receive that payment? I also want to welcome the temporary wage subsidy scheme. However, in its current design, the scheme is flawed and requires immediate reform. Employers that sign up are required to pay their employees no more than 70% of their net weekly wages, which for many is less than the €350 they would receive from the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment. Anyone with a salary of less than €30,000 will receive less under the wage subsidy scheme than they would from the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment. For a full-time worker on the minimum wage, this subsidy will provide nearly €100 less than the PUP. The wage subsidy scheme needs to be reformed by ensuring that €350 is the minimum payment employees receive through the temporary wage subsidy scheme. Will the Minister immediately look at that scheme and reform it to ensure workers will receive a minimum payment of €350?

The PUP is a working age payment and it is therefore causing major difficulties for those outside the age eligibility criteria of 18 to 66. Many people under the age of 18 and over the age of 66, who are in employment, unfortunately have seen that employment cease and they are not eligible for the PUP. This includes young apprentices, who can start their apprenticeships from the age of 16, for example. It also includes many of those over the age of 66, who are experiencing serious financial difficulties because they cannot access this payment. Will the Minister commit to extending the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment support to certain people under the age of 18 who have lost full-time employment? Will the Minister look at the issue of those over the age of 66, many of whom, as I have pointed out, are experiencing serious financial hardship during this pandemic?

This crisis has caused major concern for many renters who have lost their jobs or are working reduced hours. I welcome the important changes that have been made to accessing the rent supplement to ensure people can pay their rents and keep roofs over their heads. Can the Minister outline the revised criteria for people to apply for rent supplement? I am aware that there was a 23-page application form, which has been reduced to an eight-page form. However, there also has been a change in the criteria. Can the Minister outline the changed criteria and can he forward to me the circular that was issued to Intreo offices which outlines those changes?

Once a child maintenance order is in place, rent supplement and other social welfare payments such as the one parent family payment are reduced, regardless of whether maintenance is paid. Maintenance is treated as income and calculated as means. Many parents are not receiving any maintenance due to non-custodial parents being made unemployed or their hours being reduced. One-parent families are among the most at risk of poverty. There must be a simple process for those whose maintenance is not being paid to ensure that social welfare payments can be increased. Providing evidence or proof of non-payments is time consuming and these people cannot afford to wait. What process is in place for people in these circumstances? Will the Minister commit to changing the process around the provision of evidence?

In recent days, Dublin Bus staff are among workers who have been forced to take annual leave. This is illegal as it contravenes the Organisation of Working Time Act which states that employers must give workers at least one month's notice if they are directing them to take leave and that any such move requires consultation with the workers or their union. It should take into account a worker's ability to gain necessary rest and recreation. Does the Minister believe that forcing workers to take annual leave is illegal? Will the Minister ensure that additional resources are put into the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, to quickly deal with such situations and where complaints are made?

In 2014, the bereavement grant, a one-off payment of €850, for families was abolished. We need to put in place such a payment for those who lose loved ones as a result of Covid-19, at a rate of around €1,500. I ask that the Minister would put in place such a payment to help people who are going through an horrific time, in order to ease the financial burden and other pressures.

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