Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Two weeks ago I raised with the Minister my concerns about the SME loan schemes offered by the Government. I was hopeful at the time that she would take on board the suggestions put forward by me and other Deputies. Looking at the new schemes announced on 2 May, however, it is clear that our suggestions fell on deaf ears. The new loan schemes serve the interests of private finance and corporate landlords rather than SMEs, which are the lifeblood of this State's economy and indeed our communities. We are seeing more repackaging of, and fiddling with, existing funds and schemes and that is just not going to cut it. There are five loan schemes now, three currently in operation and two more requiring legislation to get them off the ground. I discussed the three existing schemes the last time I spoke and will not repeat myself. What is clear, however, is that these schemes are not fit for purpose and what is needed are interest-free loans that are easily accessible to SMEs now. Both of the new loan schemes announced on 2 May will require legislation and will not be available any time soon, which is of little use to businesses facing this crisis now. The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, through the pandemic stabilisation and recovery fund, will provide €2 billion of ISIF funding for enterprises that employ more than 250 people, that have a turnover in excess of €50 million and have been impacted by the pandemic. The criteria require that all investments must yield a commercial and economic impact return in line with ISIF's statutory requirements and the enterprise must present viable business models in the medium to long term. It is hard to see how this scheme relates to the Covid-19 crisis. I have no idea what it brings to the table to help the tens of thousands of businesses suffering hardships due to the restrictions.

There is also the Covid-19 credit guarantee scheme. Two weeks ago, I called on the Minister to amend the scheme to reflect the needs of SMEs, which means a 100% State guarantee and zero interest. That has not happened, meaning that thousands of enterprises will not be able to avail of these loans and the Minister is aware of that, given the low take-up. In terms of grants there was finally an announcement of a restart fund for micro and small businesses. Does the Minister have a date for when those grants will be available and could she inform us of that? Some businesses are opening next week, some a few weeks later. They need clarity. There is very little detail available at present regarding the re-start grants other than the fact that the Minister has linked them to the rates from last year which have no bearing whatsoever on restarting up costs. It also clear that the numbers do not stack up. The fund offers grants of up to €10,000, or at least that is what the Minister said when she launched her business proposals. The total fund is €250 million. If every business that applied needed the full €10,000, and bearing in mind that Chambers Ireland estimated that the average restart cost per firm would be between €26,000 and €32,000, only 25,000 firms would be able to get that grant from Government. The Central Bank had estimated that there are almost 96,000 firms in highly affected sectors and more than 128,000 firms in moderately affected sectors making a total of businesses potentially needing restart grants of almost 250,000. That is almost ten times the number of businesses provided for by the Government's scheme. The Minister needs to show leadership on this as thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of workers are relying on her. Their very livelihoods are in the balance and they are depending on the Minister to bring forth the solutions that will help them. Thus far, the solutions she has brought forth are neither fit for purpose nor good enough.

Last week the Minister launched the Return to Work Safety Protocol. I agree that all those changes are necessary but we need specific legal protections relating to Covid-19.

Protocols are just protocols. We cannot have things the way they were before, when businesses could pick and choose whether they recognised trade unions. The protocol says that each workplace will appoint at least one lead worker representative to ensure that Covid-19 measures are strictly adhered to in their place of work. The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 needs to be amended accordingly. It also needs to be updated to allow trade union representatives to meet their members in the workplace to discuss health and safety issues. It cannot be left to one person alone on the shop floor to take on a reckless employer. As the Minister with responsibility for business, the Minister should know that.

It is no good telling us that the Health and Safety Authority will do inspections. In 2018, it managed to inspect only 914 retail and wholesale premises and only 195 food and accommodation workplaces. There are more than 280,000 businesses in this State, all of which must be subject to Covid-19 regulations in law, not just in a protocol.

I also appeal to the Minister regarding the announcement of 176 job losses announced at National Pen in Dundalk on 8 May, a decision that workers had no prior knowledge of whatever. On 10 May, workers alerted my colleague, Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú, and me to the fact that the company had advertised 100 European language jobs on their Tunisian website in the week prior to the Dundalk announcement. Teachta Ó Murchú and I have written to National Pen seeking clarity on why the company claims that a major downturn in its market due to the coronavirus is the cause of the job losses, yet it appears to be recruiting in a lower wage economy in north Africa. It is sickening that a company that has received €1.5 million in grant aid in the past five years from IDA Ireland can move jobs from Irish towns and cities to cheaper locations with impunity, in this case using the coronavirus as an excuse. National Pen does not recognise unions - surprise, surprise - leaving staff in a vulnerable negotiating position when dealing with management. The Minister has a responsibility to intervene and explore all available avenues to try to rescue these jobs.

I know the Minister will not have time to answer my questions, certainly in the detail that I seek, so I ask that she respond to me in writing in the next few days.

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