Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Barry, unless Deputy Paul Murphy comes to the Chamber, in which case we will change it slightly.

This place, I have to say, makes me laugh or cry sometimes. We have had an hour of Government speakers before we get reached, by which time the Minister - no disrespect to the Minister of State, Deputy Troy - is gone. That is what the changes to the speaking order were designed to do. They were designed to knock down a significant section of the Opposition to the point where it is lost in the order, and to allow the Government to be both the Government and the Opposition. We have this fascinating situation where the Government refuses to give an income subsidy to taxi drivers and entertainment, music and arts workers, and intends to cut their incomes tomorrow, even though Government measures mean they cannot return to work or that if they do so, they will lose all their payment, but there is nothing even close to a viable income out there because their sectors have been impacted by Government measures.

The Government is going to go ahead and do this. We then had a Government spokesperson speak after a Member of the Government and before the Opposition, and say how terrible that is. The Government is the Government and the Opposition. It is brilliant. That speech should be played out in, I think, Finglas, which was mentioned. The Deputy said that he is standing up for the taxi drivers, but he is part of a Government that is going to slash their payment tomorrow. He also said he is standing up for the arts workers, but, again, he is part of a Government that is going to slash their income tomorrow, has ignored their calls and is only now talking about them because earlier today we had the biggest ever demonstration of taxi drivers in the history of this State. I note Deputy Paul Murphy has arrived, so I will take only five minutes. This is an unbelievable example of speaking with a forked tongue. These people do not want tea and sympathy. They have stated their case. I recall raising the issue of taxi drivers and the arts and music workers during Leaders' Questions last March and the Minister at the time in the previous Government looked at me as though I had two heads, wondering why I was talking about them. I had to fight to get both groups an opportunity to present to the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response. I spent weeks arguing in online meetings for the taxi drivers and the events workers to be allowed to appear before that committee because they are disproportionately hit. It was a hard fight to get them in. I eventually got them in during July. There was a lot of tea and sympathy at the Covid committee but nothing was committed to.

I would like to know if the Government is going to give the taxi drivers an income subsidy. I do not see what has changed. Is the Government going to give the events and arts workers and musicians an income subsidy because nothing has changed for them since it introduced the €350 payment? Nothing has changed. In fact, the situation is looking more precarious for them as we move to level 3, level 4 or God knows what. Why was it okay to give them €350 and now it is okay to cut their payment? Similarly, with the Aer Lingus workers or people in similar sectors and people working in cafés, bars and so on who are on the wage subsidy payment, the Government is going to cut their income. The companies get the money no problem. All they have to do is sign a declaration stating that their earnings are down by 30%. The arts workers' earnings are down 70% and the taxi drivers' earnings are down 70% but they get nothing. Aer Lingus declares that its revenues are down by 30% and there is no problem with giving them money. When it comes to what has happened to the workers on the ground, the Government has no idea what to do. There is no oversight of whether they get top-ups or whether on the days they are not working they actually get their social welfare forms signed. The ordinary person does not get looked after. Tea and sympathy is all they get until they take to the streets and put a bit of pressure on the Government. The only lesson one can draw from that is that taxi drivers will need to come out onto the streets until the Government does give them something, as will the arts, aviation and other sectors who clearly are not in it together with some of the others who are being cosseted by this Government.

See this speech in context