Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This Bill will give legislative effect for extensions to the EWSS and the CRSS. It also introduces the so-called pandemic special recognition payment or the Covid bonus. While this is welcome, it comes late and with qualifying criteria that are far too narrow. The Government's mushroom management means that everybody is kept in the dark until the latest reactionary leak. Even now, there is a continuing lack of clarity over who will meet the criteria to qualify for the bonus. The Government must include family carers who save the Government millions of euro every day, and yes, it is millions of euro every day.

Family Carers Ireland estimates that carers save the State €20 billion each year. It is probably more, and yet the Government begrudges just two days' worth of that saving to give them a small token of gratitude. This is not good enough. While the Minister is at it, it is also high time that the long-promised pension provision for carers was sorted out. We also need to ensure that workers in section 38 and 39 organisations are included, along with section 10 organisations that help the homeless. These groups exist because the State has abdicated its responsibilities. It is now payback time. There must be clarity for community swabbers who are coming to the end of their contracts and may finish work before the payment is made. Will they be included?

In recent weeks, Bank of Ireland announced profits of €1.4 billion, while AIB profits were €629 million. It is shameful that due to Government inaction they continue to pay no tax on any of these profits. They were private companies when they almost bankrupted this country. Each and every taxpayer is still paying for their recklessness and those enterprises should have to pay for their actions. Families here are paying the highest mortgage rates in Europe. The average first-time buyer mortgage is approximately €225,000 and someone borrowing this amount would pay €936 a month. The average paid in the EU is €762 a month. This mean that an extra €63,000 in interest is paid over the lifetime of the loan in Ireland. Imagine paying €63,000 in interest over the lifetime of a loan. Is the Minister losing the plot?

We also had the recent announcement that the ESB made a record profit of €679 million last year. Thousands of homeowners are struggling to pay soaring energy bills and the Government must act immediately to address the imbalance. If there are to be hair shirts, it should be hair shirts all around. As we know from recent history, however, it is hair shirts for many and Charvet shirts for the few. The Minister must act now.

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