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

I thank the Deputy for highlighting those two cases. While I do not have details of individual cases, we certainly value every job that is out there and every business that creates those jobs. During the Covid period and as we enter into the post-Brexit situation, we recognise how important it is that we, as a State, support businesses and jobs. That is what we use taxpayers' money for and it is why we have seen a serious amount of money allocated over the past 12 months to supporting jobs across a number of schemes, including the restart grant, CRSS, the wage subsidy scheme, the rates rebates, and all the various vouchers available through the local enterprise offices, LEOs, and local authorities. We are here to support businesses.

However, the Deputy is right that there are a couple of areas in which people are still finding it difficult to access all the supports. They can all avail of the wage subsidy scheme and many of the vouchers, but some of the schemes are directly linked to premises because there are costs, including fixed costs, to having those premises open. The Tánaiste mentioned that our Department is engaging with the Department of Finance and other Departments to focus on each individual sector and area to identify where people cannot avail of enough supports to keep their businesses open. I will certainly take on board the two cases the Deputy has represented and feed them into the system. We are looking at this issue in the next couple of weeks and into January. An amount of money was allocated in the budget for recovery and for a new scheme that may be announced next year. We will try to work with the Deputy on these issues as best we can.

See this speech in context