Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this Bill to introduce a new category for those involved in evictions. However, I will address a concern I have about one aspect of the often overlooked private security sector, namely, persons who install security systems, access control, fire alarms, etc. They are also regulated and licensed by the PSA. At the beginning of the pandemic when lockdown and all the restrictions were still very fresh, these professional, regulated installers continued to operate to ensure closed premises were secure, safe and protected. This offered valuable reassurance to the businesses and their users but also to insurance companies and operators.

There are over 50 of these compliant, licensed providers in my constituency, the vast majority of which are small operators. Like many other small businesses, their income dried up over the pandemic period. Most of them work out of vans and conduct their administration from their kitchen table. The Minister of State spoke of the key contribution of the sector, trust, confidence and appreciation. How exactly were those virtues reflected by the Government in April 2020, when the board of the PSA submitted proposals to have the licence fees for these contractors adjusted to take account of the additional expenses incurred due to Covid-19 restrictions, and also the new health and safety requirements that were put in place? That review was ignored. The authority was asked to submit a second one, which it did. Its second proposal was rejected out of hand and there was not a chance of it being implemented. This was following consideration by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, which deemed any deferral of income to the Exchequer a disproportionate response. The PSA then suggested an instalment arrangement.

This goes back to how little understanding some Governments have of the PSA and the work it does. This was never going to be a loss of income. It would have been a deferral. I ask the Government to think about the knock-on impact this will have. There will be an increase in the number of people operating in the black market which the PSA is tasked with investigating. Of greater concern is that when the number of licensed operators falls, there is also a fall in the number of businesses willing and able to take on apprentices and the young people who want to work in this sector and engage with the SOLAS apprenticeship programme. This will happen if there continues to be an exodus from this industry.

I have already mentioned the increased workload on the PSA. This was an extremely short-sighted position to adopt. The Minister of State can wax lyrical about the industry but those are the facts and that is exactly what happened. As we come out of this pandemic and seek to support small businesses, the Government should stop and see what supports have been put in place for this sector, which has provided a guarantee and reassurance to businesses that were closed that their premises were safe, protected and would be fit to be reopened.

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