Results 7,881-7,900 of 11,246 for speaker:Colm Burke

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Business of Special Committee (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: May I raise an issue?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Business of Special Committee (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: Last week, conflicting evidence was given by two people. A representative from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, told the committee about the number of healthcare workers who are still out sick and the evidence from Dr. Colm Henry on Thursday was the total opposite. The committee should write to both those witnesses to seek clarification on how they arrived at their figures...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Business of Special Committee (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: We should seek clarification on how those witnesses arrived at the figures they gave. There may be valid reasons for arriving at those figures but we should find out.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Business of Special Committee (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: They are.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: SME Recovery (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: There are five minutes available.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: SME Recovery (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: I thank Mr. Moran for coming in this morning and for his contribution over the past three to four months in dealing with very difficult issues within the small business sector. I want to focus on the banks and his own experience. In terms of the issues I am coming up against, a very simple one is where people are having difficulty in drawing down mortgages, which means builders do not get...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: SME Recovery (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: Can I interrupt Mr. Moran? I have quite a number of files on my desk, including a case where people have been approved a mortgage but where only one of the parties is being paid by their employer. They are not getting a Covid payment but their employer is getting one and the banks are refusing to allow drawdown, even though the other partner in the transaction is getting their full salary....

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: SME Recovery (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: Does Mr. Butler think this is fair? Two people are getting their full salaries and there is no risk to any of the companies they are employed by and the banks are saying that because the word "Covid" is on the payslip of one of them, they are not prepared to allow the drawdown?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: SME Recovery (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: I want to touch on one further issue, that is, State agencies paying suppliers or contractors. Have the witnesses come across evidence of substantial delay in paying people who have completed work on the part of either State agencies or local authorities? What needs to be done to eliminate that problem? It is contributing to cash flow problems for companies.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: SME Recovery (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: Should the relevant Government Department not check its own system to make sure there are no delays and to ensure there is no new set of rules around drawing down payments which was not there three or four months ago?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: SME Recovery (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: I thank Mr. Butler.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Hospitality Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: I will move on to the issue of insurance. All of the industry members the witnesses represent have had three months where there has been no activity. Footfall through the premises for the overall 12 months is going to be at most only 60% of what it would normally be. I had a conference call with some of the members of the Irish Hotels Federation in Cork two or three weeks ago. This was...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Hospitality Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: Just to give the general public an idea, the quote given to me by one of the hotel owners was that they were paying €90,000 in insurance costs. Would that be reflective of a 100-bed hotel or would it be a lot more than €90,000?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Hospitality Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: We are talking about €2,000 a week in real terms, if we put it into that context.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Hospitality Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: I also want to talk about commercial rates. Again, there is not much knowledge among the general public about the cost of commercial rates to hotels. One of the quotes given to me was that one hotel in Cork is paying €420,000 per annum in commercial rates. Across the country, for a 100 bedroom hotel, what would be the commercial rates? I am referring to rates paid to the relevant...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Hospitality Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: It is important to get that information out there because it is vital that people see the cost factor involved for hotels. It was suggested earlier that the temporary work subsidy scheme be extended. What kind of extension do our guests envisage in this regard and what changes would they make to the existing scheme?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Hospitality Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: The restaurants located on the street on which my business is located have been seriously affected. Do the witnesses have any idea of the number of restaurants that will not reopen? Is there feedback to indicate the percentage of restaurants that will not do so?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Hospitality Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: And insurance companies.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Arts and Entertainment Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: I thank all of the organisations for their presentations. This is a very challenging time especially for all of the artists and those involved in the events industry. I presume quite a small proportion of the 54,000 artists benefited from the Covid payment of €350 per week. How many artists benefited? Was it less than 25%? Was it a smaller percentage?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Arts and Entertainment Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: Ms Dorgan referred to a broader mechanism. What kind of changes does she consider necessary in order to bring more people in under the system?