Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Like many others, the Tánaiste included, I welcome the introduction of a statutory sick pay scheme. As I stated in committee, however, there is an issue of discernment here in terms of the scale and size of the employers. What some of the amendments are speaking to, in seeking ten days of immediate sick leave, is wholly inappropriate for microenterprises. That needs to be said first and foremost.

The second issue for small businesses is that they have a small number of staff. In the case of an employer who loses one staff member to sickness for a day - let us say it is a delivery company that needs a delivery driver - how is the business supposed to carry on operating that day without bringing in an additional person to substitute? The employer needs a substitute and will have to pay for him or her. If the business gets that substitute at short notice, the employer will pay pretty handsomely for the day's service to cover that sickness. There is no support in this scheme for microenterprises in that scenario. We all understand that if one person is out on the statutory sick pay scheme in a company that employs a couple of hundred people, the company can cover that person. As we know, most companies already have that in place.

When the Minister of State, Deputy English, appeared before the committee, he gave an undertaking of sorts that this matter would be looked at and an amendment to that effect would, potentially, be tabled. That is what I am asking for. I think we all agree that a sick pay scheme is right. We all agree that we want to bring ourselves up to European norms, although I point out the headwinds facing businesses in this country are not the same as they are in Europe. They are similar but not the same. The headwinds for small businesses and microenterprises in this country make it very difficult for them to create margins and remain viable and profitable. People might say the Bill provides that sick pay will be only 70% of pay and will be capped at €110, etc. However, if a small business such as a newsagent is paying sick pay and for the substitution of a worker, that is not small money. If that is to be done for a number of employees, as we move from three to five and then to seven and ten days, that will become a pretty onerous cost. I ask the Tánaiste to provide for a review of the scheme after the first six or 12 months to see how it is impacting on small- and medium-sized enterprises. A number of the amendments, particularly those providing for ten days of sick pay immediately, are totally unacceptable to small employers. By the way, people might say private employers are making out like bandits; they certainly are not.

Second, it is becoming even more difficult to start a viable business in this country. I was with the Waterford local enterprise office, LEO, the other day and we were looking at new applications to the office. It is very difficult. Many businesses, unfortunately, will probably not be viable over the long term. People have great ideas but when they try to put them into practice and make a commercial business out of them, it is extremely difficult. People need to remember that the SME community employs close to 1 million people here. If we do not look after these businesses, there will be no employment and we will not have to worry about sick days because there will be no employers to pay for them.

I welcome the Bill but some of the amendments are wholly inappropriate. I ask the Tánaiste to take cognisance of the SME community, microenterprises in particular, and put a review process in place to see how the scheme is operating after six months.

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