Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I too compliment the Labour Party on trying to introduce this Bill. I know the Government is opposing it. As an employer myself, which I want to declare, I have mixed feelings about it. It sends all the wrong messages. What is happening in the country is sickening, with the pandemic and special advisers, including advisers for Ministers of State. Many are simply not up to the job. I am not talking about the Minister but many are not up to the job and they do not know what to do, so they need advice on whether to turn right or left or to go forwards or backwards. It is a pathetic state of affairs to have in the Government in the middle of this pandemic. One can say that we are all in this together but we are not because Ministers and Ministers of State think they can do what they like. They are oblivious to what is going on in the real world. This is the wrong message to send at a time when Dublin is locked down again and the Tánaiste has gone into isolation. There are many mixed messages. There is a rush to see how people can make headlines. People are sick and tired of this.

Small business people cannot afford the scheme in this Bill, so this is why I will more than likely vote against it. They are good employers and there are tens of thousands of them across the country. They do their best. They are at the pin of their collar and beyond it, and we need to recognise that and have Government supports, because we must root out what is going on in the meat industry and other industries, where they are blackguarding and exploiting workers. We must certainly tackle that. A small businessman looks after staff, in the main, including with sick pay, and the staff look after the business. There is a great bond. We must get Government support like in other European countries that we are told have this. The Government has to provide Exchequer support to business people for the sick pay scheme. If we are going to do this and keep piling more bureaucracy and more onerous levies on small employers, we will not have those employers and we will have a worse off country. The Minister needs to wake up and stop the mixed messages all the time. This pay increase is disgusting.

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