Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with three of my colleagues.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Any Government spending in our economy is welcome and necessary right now. The only questions we need to ask about the package that has been announced by Government is who benefits and where benefits. The question of who benefits is really concerning because many ordinary workers and families will not benefit sufficiently from this package. Our carers, people who are providing crucial facilities, those who lost their jobs and family farmers will not benefit sufficiently. Where benefits from the package? I tell the Minister that my own constituency of Cavan-Monaghan will not benefit as much as it should from such a package.

I instance the tax rebate, in particular, relating to the Government's so-called stay and spend initiative. What it has essentially done is take what was a really positive and potentially hugely significant proposal for a voucher scheme brought forward by Sinn Féin and made it as regressive as possible. It does not invest in the businesses that desperately need support right now. Contrary to what Deputy O'Calllaghan said, not everybody has the luxury of taking holidays in August, as Members do. Many people simply do not have the money to do so.

Many of the businesses depending on such people investing and spending in their local communities or going on a short family break will not get the benefit of this scheme. Those consumers who can avail of the scheme will not be able to get the money back for a full tax year. People who visit a restaurant or stay in a local hotel or a hotel elsewhere in the State next January will not get the rebate for another 12 months. This will not stimulate the economy. In many cases, it will just put money back into the pockets of people who do not need it as much as our carers, those who lost their jobs and those whom I have mentioned.

There is a crucial provision in the legislation that needs to be removed if it is to have an impact on counties such as mine. To avail of the stay and spend package businesses will need to be registered with Fáilte Ireland. This is a crazy requirement. It is absolutely unnecessary and needs to be reversed. Most businesses in County Monaghan are not registered with Fáilte Ireland. Fáilte Ireland hardly knows where County Monaghan is in the first place. Why would businesses hand over €300 to register with Fáilte Ireland when they get absolutely nothing in return? Most of the bed and breakfast accommodation and most of the local restaurants simply are not registered with Fáilte Ireland. It is nonsensical and unacceptable that the provision is being put in place as part of the legislation. It serves no purpose whatsoever other than to give Fáilte Ireland a boost, in other words, it takes money out of businesses that can hardly afford it and puts it in the hands of that agency. It is absolutely unfair and I appeal to the Minister to withdraw this provision from the legislation.

The one area of our economy that does not need to be stimulated is demand in housing. Most young people and families cannot get on to the property ladder because demand is too strong and does not match supply. The help-to-buy scheme will simply pour oil on the fire of the housing crisis we already have. If the Government wants to stimulate housing, it should give local authorities money to build houses. This is how we will stimulate the economy through the construction sector and ensure young families can afford to buy a home. The provision in the scheme will not work.

We always welcome a VAT reduction but the reduction from 23% to 21% will not be felt by consumers because most businesses will have to soak up any saving in this regard. A reduction for the hospitality sector from 13.5% to 9% would have made a real impact. We have tabled an amendment in this regard and I urge the Government to support it.

The very notion of speaking about a stimulus package while removing money from the pockets of those who most need it does not make sense, and to suggest that over the course of this package we will reduce the incomes of people on the pandemic unemployment payment is absolutely crazy. It has austerity at its heart and does not make sense. These are the very people who will spend every cent they get. They will actually support the businesses the Government has not supported in this package. To ensure our economy keeps ticking over and to support those people who need it most, those who have lost their jobs for no reason other than that their employers had to shut down as a result of this pandemic need support. I urge the Government to reconsider.

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