Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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26. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if funding loaned or granted under schemes offered to assist businesses due to Covid-19 will be made contingent on businesses which have not been tax compliant becoming tax compliant within a certain short timeframe, on businesses fulfilling Labour Court recommendations and on businesses with outstanding cases at the Workplace Relations Commission committing to a definitive date by which they will attend to resolve such cases. [15754/20]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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This is another fairly straightforward question. While I do not imagine for a minute that the answer will be easy or straightforward, it is something that should be investigated by the Department and should form part of the discussions around both the July stimulus and other measures as we move forward. As the Minister said, this is only the first foray and then there will be more measures announced in October. As we move forward, we want assurances from him that workers will be protected in the same way as he is going to move to protect businesses.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The key focus of any grant, assistance around lending or other help provided to businesses to cope with the Covid-19 crisis is sustaining jobs and vulnerable but viable businesses. We referred to this last week. Our number one focus is helping businesses to survive and keep their doors open and then to thrive thereafter as well. That is the main focus but there are links to tax compliance in all the various grants, funds and opportunities given out by local enterprise offices, LEOs, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and the local authorities. Applicants have to show they have a tax certificate before the money is drawn down.

Labour Court recommendations, which are not always legally binding, and outstanding Workplace Relations Commission awards are not linked to the drawdown of grants. They are generally enforced by other sectors rather than Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland or the local authorities. There is other legislation to protect that area and those organisations do not track it.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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Earlier, when we were discussing the striking down by the courts of the sectoral employment order, SEO, the Tánaiste confirmed that those who were engaged on Government contracts would honour the terms of the SEO. We know that the Government knows how to respect workers' rights. The question is whether it is going to use the power it has to enforce them. I ask the Minister of State to imagine for a moment that he is a worker with an outstanding award from the Labour Court. Such awards are rarely legally binding and are often modest. It is a slap in the face for workers on low incomes who are awaiting payment of Labour Court awards to find their employers are in receipt of grants or special funding from the Government. For many of those workers, their employers have simply walked away. Would that Labour Court recommendations were legally binding but they are not, or very rarely are. If a worker is a trade union member, he or she then has the opportunity to take industrial action in support of that decision, but that is a large undertaking, particularly for people who have just been out of work. I ask the Minister of State to consider stitching in a mechanism that ensures the third-party mechanism of the State is respected. I also ask that he adheres to the principle, to which the Tánaiste alluded earlier, that when the State spends money, it will spend it where workers' rights are protected.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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To be clear, the Tánaiste was referring to State and public contracts and we can deal with those under contract law. The Deputy asked me about our agencies, whose number one job has been helping businesses survive and stay open over these last few weeks and months. Only last week, the Deputy and many of her party colleagues were complaining that the application process for assistance was too cumbersome and involved too much red tape. Our focus is on getting supports and help out as quickly as we possibly can. While we expect all our applicants to honour State law and be tax compliant, Enterprise Ireland, LEOs and local authorities are not in a position to track everyone's responsibilities regarding the Labour Court and Workplace Relations Commission recommendations and I do not think the Deputy expects them to do so in the current climate. She will probably be in here again next week demanding quick action and that is what we are trying to do. A number of other agencies and people under our Department are also responsible for tracking employment legislation and employment law but they are not the ones in charge of getting the money out to the businesses as quickly as possible. Again, our aim is to support businesses to stay open, reopen or restart and survive during these difficult times over the next six to 18 months. They will then hopefully be in a position to grow again, expand and employ more people. That is what we are trying to do here and we need to reach out to all those employers as quickly as we possibly can. There is no proposal to add to the list of requirements they have to comply with to draw down funding at this moment in time.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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I remind the Minister of State of the words of the Prime Minister of New Zealand. "Economic growth accompanied by worsening social outcomes" is not worth having. We fully respect and we will insist that extraordinary measures be taken in extraordinary times to sustain jobs, but it is not counterintuitive to insist that those are also decent jobs. The recovery of which the Minister of State speaks will not be built on the back of the gig economy, precarious work or low-hours contracts. It will instead be built on decent work, if it is to be sustainable, and he has a role in that regard. Will he take on that responsibility? I do not for a minute suggest that it will be easy and I also do not suggest that it should be so cumbersome that businesses will not be able to engage. The Minister of State will have to give thought and regard to workers' rights for decent work as he proceeds with the stimulus package.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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We will of course have thought and regard for all those employed; that is why we are in charge of employment legislation. We take that very seriously in our Department. We have several agencies that excel in their work in that area. They have built up much experience and they work with our Department and other agencies. Bodies such as our LEOs, local authorities, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland have to focus on business development and growth and putting the money out.

The majority of jobs created under the remit of Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland in recent years have been full time and high end. Naturally, as a Government and a Government party for the past several years, we have been focused on decent jobs and wages. Our track record will show where our focus has been and is. We brought forward legislation on several occasions concerning industrial relations and protecting employees. We have strengthened their position, if at all possible. When it comes to pay and decent conditions, we have also not been behind the door in bringing forward four or five increases in the minimum wage. We are, therefore, showing our focus by our actions. Our focus now, however, has to be on getting the money out. That is one arm of our Department. The Deputy's question is about the fees concerning the action in the High Court, however, and that shows that we are very much committed to the issue of employee conditions.