Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister into the Chamber again today to debate these Estimates. We truly are in exceptional and crazy times. I have said time and again over recent weeks that I find it a little unacceptable that we are being asked to provide an additional enormous resource to the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection at this point in time without having the full knowledge of how the Department intends to deploy the massive wedge of taxpayers' money that will be spent in the coming weeks and months.

We are not dealing here with fictitious Estimates - I am glad the Minister clarified that and I think the Deputy misspoke, and it was not intentional - but they are historic Estimates in many respects. Around €5 billion of the €7 billion-plus the Minster is asking us to allocate to her Department has already been spent. It has been spent on the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, and other measures, which are absolutely necessary to support people during this incredibly difficult time for families, businesses and our economy. Looking closely at the Estimate, and the Minister made this point, the current trajectory sees the funds run out on 8 June for the PUP payment and on 18 June for the temporary wage subsidy scheme, TWSS. The Taoiseach reminded us yesterday that no significant change will be made until a new Government is in place when the new Government will dictate policy, but I do not accept that the Minster could not have introduced new innovations and perspectives to us today. The people are watching this debate intently because they are concerned about their own conditions and their future. We are doing their work today, or at least trying to do that. Looking at the Estimate, it is clear the intention in coming months is to make a great attempt to move people, one way or another, from the PUP onto jobseekers' payments. This Estimate allocates about an additional €2.5 billion to spend on jobseeker's benefit and jobseeker's allowance and to some of the supplementary payments that individuals are entitled to.

We should remember that 20% of PUP are going to those under 25 years and a very significant cohort of PUP recipients are women. The Minister will know well from her work in the Department and as Deputy that there is a preponderance of young people and women who are on low pay, and many are concentrated in the food and accommodation sectors. A horrible narrative has emerged in the last two weeks which says those who now have incomes of €350 thanks to the pandemic unemployment payment, and who are earning more than they did in January and February, are somehow cheats, scroungers and spongers. Just a little while ago, I spent about 20 minutes on radio with Pat McDonagh of Supermac's. I say we were on radio but he refused to debate with me because he thinks he is somehow special and exceptional. He had made statements, as have other well-heeled commentators, about how some people in this country are on more money than they were while they were working. That is an utter disgrace. It is revelatory of how some employers treat their staff. Remember, and he said this on radio today, this is a guy who takes €1.60 each day from his staff to allow them to eat the chips they produce.

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