Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Gannon raised the issue of mental health and wellbeing. I agree with the points he made. We discussed this earlier in the House. Again, it is a key issue, particularly in terms of young people. Any supports we can give, we will give. We will work with the Deputy and others in respect of that particular issue.

Deputy Kelly raised a number of issues. We will work with the Deputy's party in respect of the Organisation of Working Time (Reproductive Health Related Leave) Bill 2021 in relation to supporting those who have gone through the trauma of miscarriage. On statutory sick pay, the Government is examining the issue and is positively disposed to such a scheme. Work is ongoing in that regard. This question was on the social dialogue and on the leave programme. We have made considerable progress on a number of fronts. This is an issue on which we want to make progress. We have work to do in regard to the living wage as well, which is provided for within the programme for Government and also in terms of other initiatives that we can take and lessons that we can learn from the pandemic in regard to sick pay, illness benefit more generally and supporting workers more broadly into the future.

On the new national childcare scheme, I reiterate what I said earlier, that is, significant and substantial resources have been provided to childcare providers during the pandemic and that will continue. Our aim is to provide for children in very disadvantaged settings and to provide good quality childcare for children in those environments. That has been the commitment of the Minister and of the Government during the Covid-19 pandemic. As we emerge from Covid-19 we want to establish a strong, supportive situation for childcare and for the early years sector. The most important years in the development of any child are the formative development years when children learn an awful lot that is key to their development. We will work on that.

On the wider issue of the EWSS and the supports we provide, from which companies like Aer Lingus have benefited significantly, last week we had a number of Deputies in the House saying that the Government was not providing supports to aviation or to the airlines. The reality, of course, is that through EWSS and other supports Government has provided substantial supports to employers to keep employees working and to keep their companies viable so that when the reopening and the restart happen they will be in a position to retain that employment and to grow the numbers working in those companies into the future. That is the raison d'être of the supports that we have introduced for businesses. Up to 315,000 workers are currently being supported by EWSS. Many more have been supported over the last two years, but currently the number of workers being supported is 315,000. More workers are being supported through the Covid restrictions support scheme and other schemes introduced by Government. We will continue to do that.

With respect to proposals from a particular private sector company, the Government has made clear to the companies it supports that it expects all agreements to be honoured. There are industrial relations mechanisms in place to facilitate resolution of any issues that employees might have with their companies. We have made a number of things clear to companies in that respect. In terms of aviation, we want connectivity, including regional connectivity. We want flights operating again from Shannon Airport. We want to see the return of early flights to London, transatlantic flights and flights from Cork. We believe in strong regional growth and development and we have made that clear to Aer Lingus and to the airlines, both in terms of employment creation and FDI. Under the urban regeneration development funding, the Government provided over €1.2 billion for locations across the length and breadth of the country to build up the regional cities and to build up towns. We will continue to do that. There has to be reciprocation from companies given the nature of State support in terms of maintaining good pay and conditions for workers and the broader economic goals and objectives of Government in respect of a balanced economic development across the regions. We have made that clear in any engagement we have had with companies, not just in aviation, but in other sectors as well.

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is examining the situation with regard to the possibility of landlords doubling up in respect of rent increases, which we do not want to see happening. As we speak, that situation is being actively considered by the Minister. We will do what we can to support tenants through the legislation already enacted to protect people from eviction, to protect tenants in terms of security of tenure, to build more houses and make them available for people across the length and breadth of the country, to make sure that councils can get housing projects through planning and passed so that the housing can be built because there has been too much delay in some councils and, in my view, too much negativity and too many projects gathering dust for far too long.

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