Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Many of my comments on this will repeat what I have said on the microfinance Bill and the Private Members' motion on workers' rights last week. The Labour Party will support this Bill. We appreciate the necessity for it and where the Minister is coming from in bringing it to the House. We agree with some of the comments made by previous speakers, particularly on the lifting of the portfolio cap.

The Minister of State's opening remarks placed a heavy emphasis on the July stimulus package. The Labour Party published its own draft stimulus proposals last week. We have tests for every piece of legislation which comes to either House in trying to deal with the massive impact which Covid-19 has had on our country and our economy. We all appreciate the economy has fallen off a cliff. In many respects it is different from what happened ten years ago in that there will still be a capacity issue regardless of how much we can reopen and how much people are able to spend again. Many small and medium-sized enterprises will have capacity issues around the number of customers they can cater for. We know that it is easier to retain a job than create one, so whatever we try to do, whether in microfinancing or credit guarantees, the goal is to maintain jobs that already exist.

All measures that we take must be big enough to counteract the impact not only of Covid-19 but also of Brexit. I wonder if Members of this House or people around the country are as cognisant of the impact of Brexit as they are of Covid-19, which is something that we are living with and thinking about. It is creating a huge mental health issue for the whole country, but had it not arrived, we would absolutely be talking about Brexit instead, its impact and the actions of the UK Government around it. The potential for job losses in Border counties and the south east is huge in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The impact on jobs, businesses and household finances will be huge. The Labour Party recommended a package of about €10 billion. If reports are to be believed, the Government is suggesting a package of €7 billion, so there is a gap between the two proposed figures, but the hole in the public finances must be bridged somewhere, which is why we believe that any stimulus, legislation or initiative must be big and bold to recognise the magnitude of what we are dealing with.

The stimulus must be directed at the creation of good quality jobs, especially for younger workers. We believe there must be conditionality with all these measures. I recognise what the previous speaker said about workers' rights, that it must be based in legislation and trade union recognition, and that it cannot be based on a quid pro quo, which I accept. At the same time, it is important that we do not return to the old economic model which failed so many people. I will keep using these statistics as long as I have a platform to speak about them, which are that 23% of Irish workers are on low pay and 40% of young people are in insecure work. The old model was not working for many young people. Now 45% of young people are unemployed. We have one of the highest youth unemployment rates in Europe. That must be recognised in any stimulus package, legislation or measures to build up the economy again. We need good quality jobs that will last and not ones that are insecure. Insecure employment leads to insecure accommodation and insecurities in many life choices. We need a new economic model based on lifelong learning, caring and sustainability. These measures must be aimed at reducing economic inequality which must be an overarching aim.

During a crisis, crisis measures are taken without thinking long term. Many of us fear that we might support this legislation, but many Bills or packages and announcements are made in the white heat of the crisis. We appreciate that and governments have to respond, but there are massive long-term impacts from the short-term measures that are taken or the big announcements that are made. If whatever announcement is made adds to economic inequality, it must be resisted and rethought. None of us on this side of the House are trying to be difficult or not help do whatever we can to get the country out of the difficulty we find ourselves in, but we cannot then return to an unfair and unequal economic model based on low tax and low pay. That is not something we should stand over.

We should not be shy about demanding the strengthening of our public services. Many business leaders speak about the challenges they have with rents, rates and so on, which is all understandable. However, when we talk about rate cuts or holidays, we must remember that rates are vital funding streams to local authorities. I am in no way suggesting that there should not be movement on rates - there should and there has been, which is welcome - but those funds needs to be replaced because local councils depend on them. The Minister of State might suggest that local councils are overdependent on ratepayers and business, which is arguable, but the funding must be replaced because there must be funding for services to provide public housing, parks, playgrounds, libraries and the other council services that everyone depends on so much. While we are trying to reboot the economy and ensure that businesses can survive, it will be challenging for local councils to survive if the rates they are used to obtaining from business to fund their services are no longer available.

Those are The Labour Party's five tests on the July stimulus: that it is big enough to make an impact - we suggest €10 billion; that it creates good quality jobs for young workers, because 45% are unemployed and a huge proportion of them were in insecure work prior to the Covid crash; that it should be based on a new economic model of decent and secure jobs; that it reduces economic inequality; and that it improves public services.

Having said all of that, the Labour Party will be supporting this Bill. We have a strong track record in producing legislation that can be practical and that can work. However, we constantly make the point to the Minister of State and the senior Minister, when he takes legislation through the House, that we are long-standing critics of any economic model which lets employers, a Government or an economy get away with exploiting people or that allows an economy or a Government to build a recovery on the backs of those who cannot stand up for themselves. It is younger people, women and migrants, disproportionately, who are in these low-paid insecure jobs. These people are also disproportionately affected by the rent issue. All of these matters overlap and are interconnected. The people I speak of do not have access to mainstream media or to powerful lobby groups that can speak on their behalf. If they happen to join a union, the union has a veto. The thing about industrial relations in Ireland is that it has been described as similar to joining a golf club. One can join the golf club but one does not necessarily get to play. That is the reality of the volunteerist model of industrial relations that exists here and that we will be challenging over for the next number of years in order to ensure that workers have a chance to recover as the economy recovers.

We want to see businesses recover and enterprises survive and to see the development of an Ireland that can get out of these dark days. We fully understand that many businesses were only beginning to turn the corner in the wake of the previous crash and believe in themselves again, and were, perhaps, taking on additional employees, building extensions or opening new outlets. We completely understand that many people have been devastated not just by the collapse of the economy caused by Covid-19 but also by the fact that the dreams that they had up until Christmas have been destroyed. Many feel that they may not open their doors again.

We want to support the Bill and what the Government is trying to achieve but we cannot – we will be consistent on this - say that if we go back to the way matters were before Christmas, everything will be fine. That will not be the case. A great number of people are suffering in desperate conditions. These are people who are working. That is what is so this disappointing when one hears statistics regarding the level of unemployment being down and full employment being achieved in the country. It is the type of employment that exists and the desperation in which people can live which is clouded by these unemployment figures.

Those are my comments on the Bill, which we are not opposing. I look forward to engaging with the Minister of State further on it.

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