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

I am sharing time with Deputy Michael Collins. Among the people I represent in County Kerry, there is much concern about the deal, which is being hailed as a super and great deal for Ireland. I too have to put on record my deep worries and concerns on behalf of my constituents in Kerry and throughout the rest of the country, whether they are farmers, fishermen, small business people or people who are relying on payments at present.

Many of the people relying on or solely dependent on Covid-19 payments have seen those payments cut. We know the payment cannot last forever but at the same time I certainly have great reservations about what is happening in the Department. I know there are sincere but extreme cases of hardship in homes and these people are being pushed off the edge of a cliff. What happens if a person is relying 100% on €350 per week and all of sudden it is reduced to €203 but there is no work?

I was glad to attend a large meeting of publicans from County Kerry on Monday night who came together to voice their concerns over their doors being kept closed. While the Taoiseach was away agreeing to deals in Europe, I remind him he did a deal here that hurt those self-employed people as at the last minute the rug was pulled from under them by making them keep their doors closed. It was wrong and disgraceful.

The Acting Chairman, Deputy Mattie McGrath, mentioned earlier the comparison between what we will pay in versus what we will get out. It is very hard to see or understand the difference. We are really buying a pig in a poke. I certainly would not agree to or sign my name to something unless I understood it and thought it good for me or the people I represent. This is what it boils down to at the end of the day. This was not a good deal for the people. I do not want to eat into my colleagues' time.

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