Pat Casey (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate my colleague, Deputy Fleming, on his appointment as Minister of State with responsibility for financial services, credit unions and insurance. His background in accountancy, chairmanship of the Committee of Public Accounts and experience as spokesman on public expenditure and reform before that mean he is ideally placed to deal with the issues ahead of us. One of the key objectives, as the Minister of State knows, concerns how we use the credit union movement to be part of the solution of our social crisis in respect of housing and everything. The former Minister of State, Senator D'Arcy, is here today. The insurance head-on. It will not cost the State anything to do this. We are looking at a financial package here. One of the things we could do is reform the entire insurance industry and make businesses more viable by doing so.

It is critical for Ireland that this Bill is passed today. Passing it will enable us to mitigate the ongoing impact of Covid-19 across our society. I welcome the fact that the Bill has broad support from all parties and groupings in the House. I welcome the decision by the European Commission in March to trigger a generous gate clause in respect of the Stability and Growth Pact and to adopt a temporary framework to enable member states to use the full flexibility foreseen in the state aid rules. I hope it will not be the last time that this approach will be taken. There was also the establishment by the ECB of a dynamic emergency purchase programme worth €1.35 trillion and the European Council's endorsement of a further package of measures amounting to €540 million in April. These packages include safety nets to minimise the short-term economic consequences of the crisis.

SURE is one of these measures but, as the Minister of State pointed out, it cannot be accessed by any member state until all member states have signed the guarantee. SURE is one of the main instruments that will protect jobs, workers and people's lives. Equally, Ireland's participation in the pan-European guarantee fund also requires us to pass this Bill today. This will have a direct impact on the SME sector and public sector bodies in accessing financial supports. I also welcome the balanced approach that has been taken this time to the contribution to the guarantee, which is in proportion to our share in the total national income of the Union. In Ireland's case this is 1.9%, equivalent to €483 million. As all member states are required to sign the agreement prior to any country gaining access to the fund, the indications are that all member states will have signed by the end of July. The Minister of State might be able to inform us exactly how many states have signed up to date and how many are left.

Section 10 addresses the issue that arose during the development of the future loan scheme in 2019, when one of the banks involved in offering a scheme to SMEs asked if the SBCI should be regulated as an insurer in order to offer guarantees.As the SBCI is becoming more involved in these loan schemes and guarantees, the amendment to the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland Act 2014 in section 10 of the Bill is being made to correct this ambiguity and to confirm that the Insurance Acts and regulations do not apply to the giving of guarantees by the SBCI in the furtherance of its functions.

The Minister of State referred to section 11, which I have not had time to read, dealing with issues arising from legislation dating back to 1959 and 1949. It relates to the Housing Finance Agency, which is a critical pillar of the delivery of social housing. It is to be welcomed that the section will help the agency and, indeed, other State bodies to streamline their ability to access funding. That is all very good and positive, but the impact must be felt on the ground by businesses that are trying to sustain and create jobs.

I refer to the viability of businesses and trying to sustain them through this process. It is about businesses trying to maintain their cash flows and margins in order that they can keep their employees in jobs and able to provide for their families. The temporary wage subsidy scheme has been a significant success for individuals and businesses. It must be welcomed and it must be kept going. The conditions of the scheme relate to employment levels in February. Many businesses are seasonal and have their quietest period in January and February. As such, their employment levels were at their lowest at the relevant time. The tourism industry and many other sectors, such as the entertainment sector which includes musicians and so on, should now be at their peak and their highest employment figures. We need the temporary wage subsidy scheme to be expanded to cater for seasonal and part-time workers. Assurance should be given to entertainers, who suffered another hit last night with the announcement that all big public gatherings have again been deferred, that the subsidy scheme will be there to allow them to sustain themselves into the future. It has been an incredible source of stability for the business sector and allowed many businesses to remain open. I urge the Minister of State to keep it in place and to further develop and expand it. It should be tapered in the context of sectors that are opening up and may be reaching their peak. It is one of the most successful measures that has been taken. It may be a mechanism which we should consider continuing into the future as a means of subsidising low-level wages to get them closer to the living wage to which we all aspire.

Another issue in the context of trying to make businesses viable is the whole area of taxation and how the State can help in that regard. Consideration could be given to the deferral of payroll taxes and, indeed, VAT. The reduced employment PRSI liability introduced by the previous Government was of significant benefit to businesses. All these measures would impact on businesses' margins, which is what allows them to stay in business.

The tourism industry only has six weeks left. As soon as schools reopen, the tourist season will be finished. The pub industry was very disappointed with the decision made last night to defer phase 4. We need to start putting in place the infrastructure that is required to allow us to open up the country. Testing, testing, testing. I refer to the measures in place at many European airports. It seems that on arrival in Germany one can access a test to prove that one does not have Covid-19. We need to be investing and putting our energy into focusing on the procedures we can put in place to allow our economy to reopen. One such measure is to have testing at airports and ferry ports.

I reiterate my disappointment that the pub industry did not get the go-ahead to reopen on 20 July. Many pubs are in rural parts and play a wider role than just selling alcohol. They are a social outlet and play a role in the area of mental health. I was disappointed with the decision to defer reopening because there were ways around it. Liquor licences could have been used as a gauge of or parameter for what could be done.