Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact we are dealing with the PUP being put back in operation, which is a necessity. We have also had the conversation, before we even had today's announcements or leaks, in regard to the necessity for businesses that were already being impacted to receive supports. When the Minister is talking to her Cabinet colleagues and others, I imagine that has to be part of the solution also. We need to ensure we maintain EWSS, CRSS and all of those other necessary supports, particularly for the businesses that are going to be impacted. It goes beyond those involved in the night-time economy or hospitality.

Even the barbers have noticed a reduction in the number of people coming in. We have also heard the same thing from taxi drivers and others. The supports must be maintained and then reviewed in respect of what is being delivered. The point of these supports was to enable us to keep the show on the road and ensure that people could do the correct things from a health perspective and protect all of us. The supports were intended to give people the wherewithal to do that and to ensure we maintained these necessary businesses and services beyond the pandemic. We may not all have believed back then that we would still be dealing with these difficulties now. However, unfortunately, we are where we are, to use an overused expression.

As the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, is present I note other entities such as community centres could also be impacted in respect of the number of events that will not now be on etc. I reiterate there is an across-the-board need to review the necessary health measures, to ensure the messaging in this regard is as clear as possible and to ensure we work with people and get buy-in. That has not been the case across the board due to some of the poor messaging. We must get that right but, equally, we ensure that these supports are provided as necessary.

I also welcome what has been proposed regarding those benefits for family carers, and particularly the moves concerning the State pension. I wish to address the issue of home care supports as well. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, mentioned that a task force is meeting. It has had several informal meetings and it is to meet in a more formal setting now that a certain amount of work has been. The issue concerning home carers is that we do not have enough of them. That is because of pay rates and that subcontractors do not necessarily get paid expenses. Weekend work is especially difficult. We must examine all possible incentivisations and benefits in this regard for people. In addition, we might need to look at those who could possibly undertake these roles in a part-time capacity, without necessarily losing social protection payments. We must also explore other options in respect of tax credits etc. These do not necessarily relate to the Minister's portfolio but I believe that she will have to play her part in delivering on this aspect.

It goes without saying that many Deputies are going to mention the cost-of-living crisis we are dealing with. The fuel allowance is not going to cut the mustard in dealing with this problem. It will deal with a certain cohort of people but it will probably not put sufficient money into their pockets to buy what needs to be bought. I call on the Minister to undertake the requisite cross-departmental contact, because this issue concerns other Departments as well and therefore we need a whole-of-government response. We accept that certain things can be done internationally concerning the energy crisis, and we should obviously engage with our European partners on those aspects. However, we can do certain things ourselves to address the problem too. I heard the Taoiseach say that we cannot do this, that or the other regarding VAT. People also talk about the rights and wrongs regarding carbon tax but it is madness to consider continuing with carbon tax hikes in the face of the crisis we are in. We are adding fuel to the fire, for want of a better term, concerning the increasing costs that are already burning up what little money people have. That is not good enough by any stretch of the imagination.

When we are talking about social protection across the board, it must be part of a wider conversation about offering people a minimum standard of living. In addition, however, such a conversation must also explore how we can offer people a roadmap out of poverty. There must be a greater level of engagement in that regard. We spoke about the local employment schemes that dealt with people who sometimes needed a greater level of supports. Those were cases that were not the low-hanging fruit that JobPath and other schemes may have dealt with, although not as well as we would have liked. Therefore, we need a more comprehensive audit in respect of all those aspects that are required in the future to ensure that the Department of Social Protection plays its part in offering people a roadmap out of poverty and into education. It is not, however, straightforward.

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