Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

One of the fundamental pillars of Government intervention to date has been the wage subsidy scheme to which all parties agreed. It will be continued. The Government has made clear that there will not be a sudden cliff edge for those coming off the subsidy. Work on the wage subsidy scheme and the pandemic unemployment payment is under way n the context of the job stimulus package to be decided upon by the Government and published later this month.

On the insolvency truce, as the Deputy described it, analysis is being carried out with regard to protections that could be put in place for ordinarily viable businesses that may be in difficulty and vulnerable to exploitation as a result of Covid.

That is being looked at. The ESRI is publishing work and research about the impact of Covid on those with mortgage arrears. That work will inform subsequent responses from the Minister and the Government about how we can help and protect those in arrears. Fundamentally, the job stimulus programme will be about trying to protect workers from being laid off and reskilling and retraining. It is an immediate response and an economic recovery plan has been developed because we have to look at different sectors of the economy. What sectors can create employment more quickly than others in the context of Covid-19? In that respect, can the retrofitting initiatives, which will take some time, become an avenue for greater employment? Do we need programmes in our institutes of technology and education and training board schools of further education to ramp up the number of people who can be trained and then allocated to sectors where employment would be provided as a result of increased State intervention in some programmes? That is the approach that we will take.

See this speech in context