Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In the overall scheme of things, I welcome that the Minister is recognising the strain on businesses and making a Christmas bonus-type payment to CRSS recipients. However, as always, I believe he is doing the bare minimum. He is continuing to choose to ignore the knock-on effect of the restrictions on others, because it would cost him money.

The RTÉ Home School Hub could explain supply chain management to the Minister. Does he remember business organisation classes in school? Products and services do not just appear. They have to be manufactured, distributed and supplied and yet his blinkered attitude is to ignore those that do not strictly meet the narrow criteria. For example, Deputy Connolly asked me to mention the boats doing tours of Killary Harbour that are excluded from the scheme because they do not operate from a fixed premises.

Like other Members, a number of small family-run wholesale distributors have been in touch with me recently because they are shocked to be excluded from the CRSS. They were told, "that the CRSS was never meant to be a general support measure for the entire economy as the country could not afford to do this ... but the purpose of the CRSS is to provide additional support to the businesses who have had to close temporarily or significantly restrict access to their premises as a direct result of public health Regulations."

For example, MCM employs 18 people. They are not eligible, despite 90% of their customers being unable to trade. Joe Kelly & Sons Limited, based in the Finn Valley in Donegal, is a family-run business in a similar situation. These are not the big boys; they are not supplying the multiples to any scale. While their market remains closed, they are effectively closed too. The Minister will put them to the wall without providing support at this time of crisis.

This affects other sectors as well. Business is not as small and contained as the Minister's reply to MCM makes out. As Minister for Finance, perhaps it is time to get out those books to which I referred, look at this and protect those businesses.

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