Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I would not want to have vertigo up here; there is a pretty steep fall. I wish the Minister of State, Deputy English, the best of luck in his new role. I know he relishes a challenge and I sincerely wish him the very best of luck and I look forward to working with him. I had expected the Tánaiste to be here. The first time I met the Tánaiste was in Kinsale prior to the election and I photobombed him for the purposes of getting a bit of publicity. It seems to have worked. We were standing in Kinsale, which is part of my constituency, and it was clear to see what a vibrant town it is. The success of Kinsale and other such towns is built on small, medium and micro enterprises, such as cafes, restaurants, beautiful bookshops and boutiques. Directly across the road from where we stood my first cousin has a flower shop. All of these small businesses are the heartbeat and backbone of what makes a town such as Kinsale work.

I am not sure whether the Minister of State, Deputy English, has visited that neck of the woods but these are exactly the type of businesses, towns and streets that we are looking to protect. When Covid is done and dusted and when we are finished, we need to be able to go back to towns such as Kinsale and ensure the doors of these businesses are still open. The microenterprise fund will play a vital role in this if we structure and administer it properly. The same could be said for towns such as Bantry, Bandon, Skibbereen, Dunmanway, Schull, Castletownbere and my hometown of Clonakilty.

Recently, I opened my constituency office on Ashe Street in Clonakilty, which is a gem of a street. It is not only picturesque but the businesses there are very innovative and creative. There are all different types of businesses. When I set up my office the first knocks on my door were not from constituents looking for issues to be addressed but the other neighbouring businesses and local businesses welcoming me to the street with open arms. This demonstrates the tight knit network of businesses in our towns and regional areas, including clothes shops, boutiques and other retail, and how they all look out for and support each other.

One of the specific remits of the Minister of State will be retail. These are the types of businesses we need to look after. We are all shouting about hospitality, restaurants and cafes, and we need to do so, but retail also plays an important role. They are all looking out for each other. Unfortunately, within a few weeks of setting up my office we had one of the first casualties of Covid as one of the businesses on the street shut its stores for the last time. The entire community on Ashe Street was heartbroken. The people were devastated because they had become very close and they had seen one of their friends close down. We can sense the worry and concern among the businesses on Ashe Street. They will bounce back and I am absolutely sure that somebody else will move into that premises but we need to do everything within our power to allay their concerns and make sure that these clothes shops, fashion shops, boutiques, cafes and restaurants can keep their doors open and are still there when we get a vaccine and can return to some type of normality. I am trying to demonstrate the importance of these microenterprises that employ fewer than ten people and I know the Minister of State is familiar with it. There are the backbone of our communities, towns and streets.

It is important that I take this time and opportunity to mention hospitality. Town such as Kinsale and Clonakilty would not have retail industries if it was not for footfall. This is where we need to come in strongly with the July stimulus. The VAT rate has to be reduced. There have been repeated calls for this and I want to reiterate them.

The wage subsidy scheme has been an absolute lifesaver for these industries. I am speaking in particular about hotels. Perhaps they do not fit into the microenterprise category but it is important that we speak about how important the wage subsidy scheme has been for them to keep going. I was speaking to a hotelier this morning and they simply would not have their doors open if it was not for the wage subsidy scheme. We need to extend it and we need to prepare, unfortunately, for the potential of a second wave so that we do not leave businesses high and dry. We must be prepared and be in a position to extend the wage subsidy scheme if there is a second wave.

Bigger industries will have to apply for the working capital loan. As is the case with the microenterprise fund, there is great difficulty and businesses are finding it hard to stomach and swallow the fact they are dealing with 4% or 5% interest rates when they know that in Europe and internationally we are looking at zero or negative interest loans. We need to pass on the zero interest rate of which we are able to avail to the small and medium enterprises. I would like to ask the Minister of State whether there is any way the interest rates can be examined in terms of how the microenterprise loan is administered.

There is not just tourism in west Cork and we also have vital farming and fishing industries. They need to be facilitated through the microenterprise loan fund because there is an opportunity for them to obtain some relief. They are facing similar difficulties.

I also want to mention briefly the event sector because I hope to get an opportunity to contribute to tomorrow's debate on this. We all love going to gigs and I am sure that in the room where we are standing there have been some incredible and exhilarating gigs and events and we have all been to gigs just up the road in the 3Arena. It is not exclusive to Dublin. Where I am from in west Cork is the second rock and roll capital of Ireland. We have amazing venues such as De Barra's music venue and Levis's in the small village of Ballydehob, which has hosted some of the biggest names in the world. These venues are all incredibly nervous and on edge. They are not sure what the future holds.

They have contacted many of us with a list of their wishes. I will take the opportunity to read these out in order that we can take note of them because they fit into the microenterprise bracket of employers of fewer than ten people.

They are looking for the Covid payment and wage subsidy scheme to continue for events and arts workers - that is very important - at least until mass gatherings can reconvene, which may be some way off, if we are to be honest. They are looking for business grant support of 20% of the 2018 turnover for SMEs and events and arts sector workers. They are looking for bank loan and lease payment holidays to continue. They are looking for their insurance policies to be re-evaluated. That is very important because, obviously, with events not going ahead the risks are much lower, so that needs to be re-evaluated. Rent assistance and funding of an industry assistance programme to cater for mental health and well-being are incredibly important. Since this pandemic the arts community has really come together to look after one another's mental health, but there needs to be a properly funded programme for that. Reduction of the VAT rate needs to be seriously considered for arts and events workers. They refer to a break on commercial rates, and the recipients of the Covid payment to be eligible for other welfare supports, such as rent allowance.

This is the first time in history, to my knowledge, that the arts and events industry has been through this, so we need to be there for those in the industry until mass gatherings can recommence. I will elaborate on this again tomorrow.

Every avenue over-66s look down, every corner they turn around, they face brick walls. They have been excluded from the PUP and cannot apply for the restart grant if they are not ratepayers. Bed and breakfast owners are a good example of this. They are excluded from the enterprise grant because the €1,000 grant is available only to those coming off the PUP, but they could never avail of the PUP. Furthermore, they may not necessarily apply for loans such as this, so we need to make them eligible for the restart grant.

I was talking to a local LEO company recently. Microfinance Ireland has been in touch to say the money has gone. That re-enforces the importance of passing this legislation. Microfinance Ireland is telling the LEOs to stop sending businesses to it until more funding comes. The interest rate, as I have already said, needs to be looked at. Finally, there is approximately a 60% or 70% approval rating, from what I can gather. Is there a way we can increase that approval rating?

I thank the Minister of State for listening.

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