Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to hear suggestions and ideas that the Deputy has because we are still working through the SME growth task force. We will look at all ideas and initiatives. The economic recovery plan will be published in November, for which a €3.4 billion recovery fund has been set aside to fund ideas and new initiatives and to target certain sectors through our agencies. There is also contingency funding. More than €5 billion that has been set aside to work with during 2021, to fund ideas and initiatives and to target certain sectors through our agencies, has not been allocated in detail under the budget. We can fund any ideas the Deputy might bring forward.

This is very much a budget to support business and the self-employed. We have been engaging with businesses through representative bodies and individually in recent months to find out what their needs are, the first of which is the wage subsidy scheme. We have confirmed that the scheme can be extended beyond April next year if necessary, while the restart grant, processed through rates, has been very beneficial.

Our business supports do not differentiate by age. The Deputy mentioned people over the age of 66 but our business supports are for all businesses to keep their doors open. We recognise that at some restriction levels, some companies cannot function as they normally would. We will support them more greatly in such cases, which is what the Covid restrictions support scheme is for. The main thing is that we are supporting businesses and we will work with them. We will introduce sector-specific welfare if needs be.

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