Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Higgins. I wish the Tánaiste well in what is a crucial role for the country as we face the rebooting and reopening phase for the country after what has been a traumatic few months for everybody, not only from a public health perspective but also from the perspective of business, people's livelihoods and employment. When I hear much of the analysis and the calls for different levels of support, I am a little wary of the specific figures being put forward on what different areas of the business sector need. The truth is that as businesses reopen it is only then that we will learn what the consumer wants and how consumer patterns will change. In tourism, retail and other areas of the service industry, we will not continue to live our lives in the same way. People will go about their lives differently. From a public health perspective, we need them to do that to a certain extent with social distancing and the important etiquette to which we need them to adhere. In addition, their fear still exists, and in view of the risk of a second surge and the health warnings from the World Health Organization, the Chief Medical Officer and others, we need them to have that fear. While it is healthy that it is there, it means we cannot tell exactly what the impact on business will be and exactly what the requirements of business will be with regard to liquidity, credit and supports for employees.

The measures taken to date, which were effectively introduced overnight, have been crucial. Supporting the link between the employer and employee, as the wage subsidy scheme has done, the restart grant and the rates measure are not perfect systems. They were designed at very short notice and anomalies will arise. I believe the July stimulus package is a good opportunity to address some areas, such as bed and breakfast accommodation in the hospitality sector and the bus sector, which have challenges but do not pay rates. I and my family are looking at holiday homes in Ireland to book a week or two in August but it is almost impossible to get anything now. That is great. It is a very good sign that many people are deciding to have a staycation at home. However, I wonder if it is also a sign that perhaps the hotels are not opening at full capacity or do not plan to do so. One hears stories that family-run hotels in tourism areas are not taking back their part-time seasonal workers. They are retaining their permanent staff whom they have employed all year, but the other jobs are critical to rural communities as well as urban areas and for students who are on their summer holidays but cannot now use the J1 visa. One can quickly see the knock-on implications for the economy if we do not get this right and continue the supports in the July stimulus package. I am aware the Tánaiste has taken that on board.

One can look at a number of areas but I will conclude with one point. I have read some academic arguments which say that the State must be careful about who it bails out, and that some businesses were in trouble before Covid-19 arrived and we should only direct the money and supports to certain areas. I offer a word of caution and a counterargument to that. Even if a business was struggling and its model was not perfect, it can always have the opportunity to adapt and learn. We must give it every chance. However, even if it is a doomed model in whatever scenario, it might owe money to another business that has done everything right. It might owe €30,000, €40,000 or €50,000 to that company. If we let companies fail on that basis, there can be knock-on implications for second-tier and third-tier companies that are suppliers in that industry or sector. I do not believe the Government should be playing God in that and picking who survives and who does not.

We should give every business the opportunity to rebound. Irish businesses and Irish entrepreneurs are remarkably resilient and I believe Irish people are ready to support their local businesses. There are many challenges, but one can see the take-up for the online token which was greatly oversubscribed. The Tánaiste's predecessor, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, had to put an extra €12 million into it. These are the things we should bear in mind and these are the challenges the Tánaiste faces. I wish him very well in that endeavour.

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