Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I raised with the Taoiseach this morning exactly that same issue of the specific resources that would be available. It is intended that phase 1 will happen on Monday and provisions must be in place for Monday. I was told by the Taoiseach that I would be better to address it to Deputy Humphreys because she is the line Minister. I refer to the specific information on the number of staff who will be enforcing this. I accept there are many good employers with which there will not be an issue and with which this will work well but, equally, there will be others. If we do not spend the time and effort and the money on this, we will spend it on the front line in the hospitals. We must get this right. If phase 1 does not roll out properly, phases 2, 3, 4 and 5 will not roll out properly because it is spaced for that reason. The Minister needs to give us specific information on the number of staff and the kind of resources that will be available.

The other point I want to make in relation to the construction sector is there are elements of the construction sector that are not under the remit of the Construction Industry Federation, CIF. They would have self-employed people because that is the kind of work available to many in the construction sector. There will be elements of the construction sector that will not be linked in in that same way and that needs to be considered.

I will move on to a few other points. The Minister has told us that businesses need to be working on preparing to open. Some of them are still guessing what that means. I accept there is a roadmap and there are guidance documents but, as I have raised with the Minister previously, some of those need to be bespoke as opposed to general. For example, some of them will probably have to open on a phased basis. That needs to be taken into consideration, for example, building up clientele because not everybody works out of a physical building. For those who work out of a physical building, what support grants are available, for example, for such items as Perspex and personal protection equipment, PPE, which allow for reopening?

For many businesses such as hairdressers and cafés, the flow of people through the door may be greatly reduced because of the number that can be accommodated. That will have an impact on turnover but the overheads will not decrease. Will a specific approach be taken to consider that side of things?

I wish to ask the Minister about upward-only rent reviews, which we are still seeing in the city centre and in other locations. I take the point concerning a plan for each town. We have to reimagine things differently. The last thing we want is to lose the vibrancy from our city and town centres. Because of upward-only rent reviews we could lose the artisan shops and independent coffee shops, the kind of things that create vibrancy.

I refer to planning and the hospitality sector. Are people planning for a 2 m distance or a 1 m distance? People might want to spend their time working on things, but they have to know what they are working on if things are to work out. The Minister might give us some idea of the distance reduction so there can be a little more certainty in that regard.

The Covid-19 payment is a very good initiative and keeps people attached to their employment. I remember going on about this ten years ago. This is how Germany responds to a downturn in order to get people back to work very quickly. The idea is very good, but several people have told me that they are worried about it. I really am all in favour of transparency but I note that employers do not really want to be on Revenue's list for anything. They are concerned about being on a Revenue list for having received Covid-19 payments for their staff. Is that likely to happen? It has been raised with me a few times. I do not think they mind being listed, but to be on a Revenue list would be a concern. Will the Minister address those queries?

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