Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We are discussing the framework and the five levels which provide the context in which we hope to lead our lives and live with Covid and the three pillars that underpin them. One overarching area where we could improve things is to make every effort we can when moving from one level to another to give businesses more notice. The Minister of State knows as I do that many businesses have lost heavily because they only get 24 or 36 hours' notice. People feel they are only back up and running again and the rug has been pulled. It is not so much that the rug is pulled but the speed at which it is pulled and the uncertainty around the financial loss that many people experience. While I understand Covid moves swiftly, I would make that general point first.

Before I address the framework itself, I have a comment about some of the debate today. There is a lot of debate about what the figures tell us about the second wave of Covid. While every single death is a tragedy for the individual and their family, the argument is being made nonetheless that because deaths in August were 14 and September were 27, somehow the second wave is not as deadly because the ratio of infections compared with the number of deaths is less than it was back in April and May. However, that misses the extremely important point that we are testing far more people now than we did in April and May, so any comparisons we make of figures have to be valid. Otherwise conclusions that flow from them are simply invalid.

The one thing we cannot do is lose control of this virus because we know what happens if we do. I do not know how some people can have forgotten what happened in northern Italy, the scandal of people walking out of care homes in Spain and other countries and the terror that was New York. Members may know the phrase "it has not gone away" and Covid has not. People really need to be careful about what they are saying and the messages they are giving out.

Many things have changed, however, and one area where we remain behind the curve is testing and subsequent tracing. I am convinced we can do much better and we must do so if the Government's three pillars are to stand and its framework is to hold. As the Minster of State knows, there are new tests on the market. There is pilot PCR testing taking place where between ten and 20 people can be tested at a time. If it comes back positive, all of these people have to be tested individually, but if it returns negative, then at least ten tests have been done in one go. Given that the positive testing rate is around 2%, it means that kind of test statistically should work very well. As such, if we can move forward with our testing and upgrade and update our regime, the pillars of the Government's roadmap will, as I said, be much more likely to remain in place and give us a fighting chance of living with Covid. Otherwise we will be looking at looking at living at level 2 the odd time, but more likely level 3 to level 4.

The Minster mentioned the three pillars and I will return to pillar 1 when we are discussing the winter plan later. For the few minutes I have however, I want to concentrate on pillar 2. I have said it before and will say it again, we need to increase the PUP to what it was. This is a safety net for so many people so that they can continue to pay part of their mortgage and so that their lives do not simply fall apart.

The Minister of State and I know these people cannot work because sectors are closed. We speak to them and hear from them all the time. They have no understanding of why that payment has been cut. It is an act of solidarity. As I have said previously, we must pay it because it keeps families and households afloat. That is what we are asking for if we are to live with Covid.

The Minister, Deputy Donnelly, mentioned a cut in VAT rates. The Minister of State and I come from the Border region. We know the importance of lowering the VAT rate in the hospitality sector from 13.5% to 9%. I ask again that the Government considers it.

While the employment wage subsidy scheme is good, it absolutely needs to be revised because it is a cliff edge for businesses. If their turnover drops by 30% or more, then businesses can access these supports, but if their turnover drops by 15%, 20% or even 28%, they receive no assistance for employing people. Many businesses have contacted me about this. If two businesses are side by side and the turnover of one drops by 30% and the other by 22%, one of them will get full support and the other will get nothing. I ask for a graduated approach. For example, if turnover drops by 10% a business might get €50 per employee, a drop of between 10% and 20% would mean €100 per employee, a drop of between 20% and 30% would mean €150 per employee while a drop of more than 30% would mean, as it does now, €200 per employee. This would be a much fairer system for businesses and would significantly improve the workings of the scheme.

See this speech in context