Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish the Minister of State well in his new portfolio. While I am grateful for the thrust of the scheme, like Deputy Mattie McGrath I am doubtful of it. The banks will be the distributors. I was once told the banks will give a person money if he or she does not need it and if he or she has a good credit rating. If a person needs money, however, the banks will not give it. That is the truth of the matter.

There are many problems specific to Kerry, in respect of seasonal workers, hotel workers, bus drivers and so on. Take, for example, the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, of €350. Many seasonal workers who work in hotels, drive buses or are otherwise involved in the tourism industry did not receive it because they had not been working for the week of 6 March to 13 March. If the lockdown had not come for another fortnight, all of them would have been working. Now the story about them is that their stamps have run down and they will not get jobseeker's allowance.

On top of that, many of them will not qualify for the wage subsidy scheme either, because the guidelines state that applicants had to be working in January and February. Hotels, therefore, that called back their workers are not entitled to the scheme and they too are caught. I ask the Government to deal with that. If someone worked for a lower number of hours, as some people did in January and February, employers can receive the wage subsidy based only on that number of hours. I want the Government to address that.

Many people over the age of 66 years who feel they have been left behind employ people. I refer to people such as publicans. One woman rang me all the way from Donegal when it was announced last weekend that pubs would not be allowed to reopen. She and her daughter run a pub. In April she turned 66 years old. She has many commitments and outstanding bills to pay, like a lot of other publicans. Many of them are older and all they get is their old age pension, which is not sufficient to pay the outstanding utility bills, whether they are for water, additional electricity or other charges that accrue. Such people were employing others. Those who are over the age of 66 should at least have been given as much as the PUP of €350.

There are several other matters to consider, such as the plight of businesses in sectors such as farming and fishing. I ask the Government to consider the people involved in these sectors. There is much talk about creating jobs but we must try to retain the jobs we traditionally had and which have worked. We need to help businesses connected to farmers and fishermen.

Others have been forgotten, including musicians who used to play around the counties and were paid for it and singers. These people have been left behind. We can take the likes of Siamsa Tíre in Tralee as an example. Siamsa Tíre has done wonderful work promoting youngsters between the ages of 15 to 18 and has taken them all over the world. The people involved with Siamsa Tíre got them going and recognised over the years. It has had to close and, although it needs money, it cannot fundraise. The Minister of State knows the groups that do so much work cannot fundraise so I ask the Government to consider their plight. On top of everything else that the pandemic has done to people, we do not want to lose our culture. We do not want to lose what people brought us over centuries and that they want to carry us into the future. We must recognise that.

I spoke about Skellig Michael earlier and I appeal to the Government to open the island again. A part of the problem in getting it reopened is the cost of insurance for boatmen. When paying insurance, these workers used to be able to spread their payments over a longer period but now their time working has been practically halved, assuming the island will be reopened. Their premium will now be more than they can afford. I ask the Government to help people like them. It is important to consider how just that one place could affect all south Kerry. We can think of the spin-off effect if we could even get it going at a slow pace. The national park and traditional farmhouses in Killarney are closed but there is more in the area. People are struggling because when places were open during the lockdown, it cost them much more. People have not been remunerated and it is likely that those businesses will be in serious trouble.

We have weathered much this year but next year we will see trouble. We are looking to the new Government to do something to help retain the jobs and businesses we have had. Many of those businesses will be in trouble next year and the banks are not the ones to save them. I appeal to the Minister of State to listen to my comments about the pubs because as what has happened in that sector is totally unfair. As I said last week, how does the virus know a person is eating a meal while drinking a pint? It is absolutely ridiculous but as the Government kept the pubs closed, it must do something about giving the owners grants rather than loans. These people have enough loans to repay. I am asking the Government to look after the publicans in rural Ireland because if it does not, some of them will never open their doors again. I mean that.

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