Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak today. In general, the Government's financial response to the challenges caused by Covid-19 has been fair and mostly adequate. I think it is fair to say that the response has been timely and that the sectors most affected have been supported. All this, however, is coming at a huge financial cost, and it is one that will take generations to repay. The bottom line is that these measures were needed at the time and we effectively had no choice. Unfortunately, many businesses did not survive the periods of lockdown and many more will not survive when the financial supports are lifted.

This is the point I raise today. Many businesses are only just about surviving and the Covid-19-related supports they are receiving are effectively keeping them afloat. As I said many times before, we need to support these businesses in future. We cannot simply cut off the supports and see what happens. Many of these businesses are local family-based companies, with two to ten workers. They are the lifeblood of the Irish economy. Most of the publicity goes to the large multinational companies, and there is no doubt that they provide extensive employment, but we must also fully support the small indigenous businesses that exist in every county. There are many owners of such businesses in Dundalk and they all welcomed the supports they received during the lockdown periods, but they are all worried about the impact when these supports are lifted. Many of them have stated that they fear they will find it difficult to maintain their existing workforces without these supports and, in some situations, even fear for their future entirely.

If we look at the financial costs to the State, I think everybody can agree that it is better to support workers in employment than to support them while they rely on social welfare. That is why I call on the Government to maintain these supports for the thousands of small Irish firms for as long as possible to allow them to get back on their feet fully. The bottom line is that if we do not support these businesses now, there is a great danger they will close. Once closed, they will be difficult to reopen. We must keep supporting these businesses to allow them to survive. This will, in turn, allow them to make a significant contribution not only to the Irish economy but also to our society.

Another point I raise is that some large companies were able to make dividend payments to shareholders, who in many cases were also directors of these companies, while at the same time receiving thousands, or in some cases millions, of euro in Government supports. This is morally wrong and must be examined. It is simply wrong that these companies were allowed to do this. What measures has the Government put in place to investigate this and what measures are in place to allow the Government to recoup this money in future if it is shown that the money was not needed? Why is it that large companies could receive thousands, or in some cases millions, of euro of taxpayers' funds, while at the same time paying large amounts in dividends to shareholders and directors? We need to look at this situation carefully.

Turning to the dramatically rising cost of living, this is the next great challenge our society faces. The unprovoked actions of Russia are adding greatly to these price rises. I appeal to the Minister to put in place whatever measures are needed to support our business community. To put this into context, I spoke to representatives of several businesses and the increased costs they are facing are frightening. To give an example, one company in the food industry used to have an energy bill that was usually around €25,000 each month. Its bill is now averaging over €55,000 per month, which means it has more than doubled.

Another business owner I spoke with, who employs four people, has a weekly fuel bill of approximately €300. For the past number of weeks that has risen to over €650 per week, and to put this into context, the business owner faces an annual increase in a motor fuel bill of almost €20,000. For that business this could be unsustainable over a long term.

I welcome that the Government is reducing the duty on fuel, and that will be welcomed by the many thousands of businesses across the country. The knock-on effect of all these increases in cost will eventually be substantially increased costs for the consumers in the supermarkets, and this is when we will see the real effects. I fear consumers could be facing increased shopping costs of anything between €20 and €40 per week in their shopping bill.

I welcome the pandemic special recognition payment for our front-line healthcare workers, who were heroes during the pandemic. This is very welcome for them and I fully support the measure. I hope that the administration of the payment is not bogged down in red tape and that it reaches those it was intended for. It is only right to mention the many other workers who had to work hard during lockdowns to ensure we all had access to food and services. In particular I highlight the supermarket workers, who worked right through the pandemic to ensure our supermarkets and shops remained open.

I want once more to offer my support for the measures introduced during the lockdown. These measures kept many thousands of businesses from closing permanently and supported them while they remained closed. We must now continue that support for a period to ensure these businesses remain open and viable. I also call on the Minister to address the issue of some large companies being in a position to pay out dividends to shareholders and directors while at the same time availing of Government supports. If these companies were able to pay dividends, they should not have been receiving taxpayer money. At the very least they should be made repay these supports.

I thank the Government for the work done in the past two years during the pandemic and it has done a very good job. As I said, with what is happening with Ukraine and the Russian invasion, there is much uncertainty. I come from a border town in Dundalk and we are very concerned about what will happen. In Ireland we have taken in over 2,500 Ukrainians and our friends in the UK have only taken approximately 500 people. I support fully what the Government is doing and it is right that we should help Ukrainians. I come from a Border area and we are worried that the UK is not going to follow suit. I mentioned last week on the Order of Business about the minimum price of alcohol. I fully supported the Government because it was supposed to happen in both the North and South. The last thing we want to see is people crossing the Border from South to North in order to get alcohol because if they do that, they will end up getting food and everything else. The Minister has had a thinking cap on for the past number of years so I ask him not to forget the Border areas.

I am very proud to be Irish and what the Irish are doing to help Ukraine is unbelievable. I come from Dundalk and all we can see are lorries loaded with food, clothes and everything else going up the M1 motorway. It is absolutely fantastic and we welcome the Ukrainians. Dialogue is the best way to go forward and I hope we get a quick resolution in Ukraine. I hope Ireland does its fair bit and I hope there is a peaceful outcome.

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