John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. I welcome to the House and congratulate the Minister of State on his recent appointment in what will be a very challenging but no doubt rewarding position as we face into economic uncertainty on the horizon. I also wish to congratulate the Leas-Chathaoirleach on his recent appointment as I did not get the opportunity to do so last week. He follows in the footsteps of a very impressive predecessor, former Senator Paul Coghlan.

We can all agree that on New Year’s Eve 2019, when we were ringing in 2020, none of us would have imagined what we are about to face into, in the unprecedented economic and social challenge that Covid-19 was going to present us with. That is why this Bill is particularly important because it is putting in place the structures that will allow member states within the European Union to, most importantly, protect both workers and jobs in the face of economic uncertainty. When reading through the legislation and briefing notes last night I was particularly interested in what a number of colleagues have already referred to, that is, the supports to mitigate unemployment risk and emergency, or for brevity, the SURE instrument. Under this proposal, as has been mentioned previously, the SURE instrument is going to allow up to €100 billion to be provided to member states. This financing will allow member states to strategically tackle any sudden increases in public expenditure that will come along as a result of Covid-19. It is very important to acknowledge that this instrument will provide states with that kind of flexibility to be able to react quite quickly.

I am also pleased to see that under the SURE scheme, and what may or may not be eligible under it, it appears that the temporary wage subsidy scheme, TWSS, may be eligible for loan support. This is quite important and I will focus the remainder of my contribution on the TWSS. As with all legislation that has been passed by parliaments around the world on Covid-19, a real effort has been made to get it through the houses of parliament as quickly as possible. I accept that because at the end of the day it is for the good of our country that we do this as quickly as possible. An aspect of the TWSS was brought to my attention in the last number of weeks by a small business in County Louth, which is a family business which employs four or five family members. This business had an accountant previously and one of the family members decided to take over the running of the accountancy function, a function the Minister of State will be well aware of himself.They were not on the CollSoft payroll system on 29 February whereas the legislation states clearly that a person had to be on the wage system on that date. All other wages were then put in ten weeks later but it was after the specified date. I and the family have pushed this through the proper channels within Revenue but it has been clear in stating that, while it is sorry, this is the legislation that has been passed by the Houses of the Oireachtas and it cannot do anything about that.

I ask the Minister of State and his Department to examine the anomalies that have been created, not through anyone's fault but due to technicalities. Companies such as this family-run business in County Louth have fallen through the gap as a result. I hope the Government can deal with such examples next week in the stimulus package.

This provides a timely reminder to us that, as we try to get legislation through this House as quickly as possible to take on the fight against Covid, we should reconsider that legislation in the following weeks, and produce amendments or subsequent legislation to tackle issues like those I have raised to help and support small family businesses. I am sure many Members of the House will agree with me. I believe it is inherently unfair that when we are providing so many financial packages for people, due to a technicality and legislation being black and white, a good, hard-working, decent, honest family have fallen through the gap. I hope we can rectify that.

I wish the Minister of State well in the job to come.