Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for her questions. I understand that the matter raised in her first question relates more to the operation of the pandemic payment as opposed to the wage subsidy scheme. If the Deputy has any correspondence in respect of that issue from carers or other groups, she might pass it on to me and I will respond on her behalf. The pandemic payment has been structured to help those who were working on a particular date, lost that work and are no longer working. It is therefore the case that some people are not benefiting from that payment because, for example, they were not working on the date at which the payment was introduced or they may still be in some form of work. If the Deputy provides me the correspondence on the matter, I will respond to her on the issue.

The first step in helping sectors such as the SME and tourism sectors to recover is the income subsidy scheme. It is designed to help employers who have seen a huge decline in their revenue. I know this is the case for anybody working in hospitality or tourism. They have not just seen a decline in their income, they have seen the loss of virtually all of it. Any employer in that sector should either be examining the wage subsidy scheme or should be on it. The very reason the scheme is in place is to support employers at the point at which their income is next to nil. I am absolutely aware of the challenges the sector is facing. It was the first sector to experience massive job losses. When we put together a plan to look at how we can rebuild our economy it is the sector that will be very much at the centre. Our ability to reopen our hotels and restaurants depends on where we are from a public health point of view, whether provisions for social distancing can be implemented and whether it is the right thing for the health of all of us for the sector to reopen, which it will at a point in time but first and foremost it will be influenced by what is right from a public health point of view.

With regard to mortgage breaks, when I have had further engagement with the sector I will provide briefing material to Deputy Nolan and others to ensure they are aware of where the issue stands.

To go back to a point on which I have touched previously, I want to emphasise again that measures such as the pandemic payment and the wage subsidy scheme are exceptional measures for an emergency period. They are schemes through which the Exchequer is making available many billions of euro. It is the right decision to support so many people when they have lost their income so suddenly and in the absence of these schemes would be facing either a huge decline in their income or would find it even more difficult to go back to work. I want to emphasise that their cost will require significant decisions on how they are used in future and how their use coincides with changes in public health guidance.

See this speech in context