Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Grealish referred to people over 66 years who have lost their jobs. They can be included in the wage subsidy scheme. We encourage their employers to keep them on under the wage subsidy scheme. However, they cannot receive the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, which is an individualised payment. If one examines some of the individual cases - I have examined some, although certainly not all of them - one finds people over 66 years are generally in receipt of a State pension and often in receipt of a State pension for a dependant as well. Often the amount in question is over €400 per week. The PUP is individualised and a recipient gets nothing for dependants. Recipients cannot have it both ways by getting a State pension plus money for a dependant and the PUP. That would be unfair.

We are inviting those over 66 years who have lost their jobs and who have low pensions to approach us individually through the social welfare offices. We will look at individual hardship cases. These would be people over 66 years who have low incomes and no other income that brings them up to the level of €350, if that makes sense. Many will have a pension and a pension for a dependant, which will bring them up to €350 anyway. Since this has been offered, at least as of last week, no one has come forward to the community welfare officers for additional assistance but that offer remains in place.

I will certainly take up the question of the landscapers and whether they can be included with the national public health emergency team. However, a decision was made - and the Government endorsed the decision - not to make any modifications between now and 5 May. The view taken by NPHET, which we endorsed, was that we could send out mixed messages or create confusion if we started tweaking the rules every couple of days or weeks. The rules that were imposed will stay as they are, unchanged, until 5 May. Any change from then on will be announced prior to that date.

Deputy Grealish referred to the SME and hospitality sectors. The only assurance that I can give people working in hospitality and those working in SMEs is that when and as the economy reopens, those of us in this Government - and hopefully the next Government - will do anything that we reasonably can to save those businesses that are viable after this.

We recognise that some businesses may not be viable but we think the majority are. That may take the form, for example, of deferrals of rates, grants or loans. Sectoral plans are being developed at official level. There are so many unknowns at the moment, however. We have no idea when tourism, for example, will return to normal or what a new normal might look like if there are going to be travel and airport restrictions. There are so many unknowns now that it is hard to make any definite plans or to put them in place. Work is being done, notwithstanding all these unknowables, to put plans in place to get those sectors going again as quickly as possible.

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