Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and the Bill. As many Members have said, it is important legislation given the gargantuan impact that Covid-19 has had on our SMEs. They are run by people we all know in our communities such as the hairdresser, the restaurant, the cafe and the play centre. Senator Kyne and the Acting Chairman also referenced various communities.

It is important that access to finance be made available. I concur completely with Senator Murphy that there cannot be red tape. There must be prompt immediate access to credit and finance. We speak about stimulus, and the stimulus plan being announced today is important. It will be a strong key pillar of the recovery. Access to credit is profoundly important. If we are to do anything differently, and Senator Higgins made reference to the banks earlier, we must get the balance right between how the banks behaved in the early part of the century and now. I agree with the Senator that they must take some risks now to help employers.I agree with Senator Higgins. They must take some risks now to incentivise and help people who are employers.

Tourism, hospitality and aviation have been the hardest hit in this pandemic. The scaffolding we put around all sectors of our economy, whether it is overdrafts, term limits, working capital or Government saying, through local authorities, to put a long-term pause on rates, is one that we should consider. I welcome the decision of the European Council this week. There must be a balance between the loans and grants referenced by Senator Higgins. I agree with her that there must be a balance. If we are to be resilient as a country then our national plan is important.

It is not the Minister of State's responsibility but the aviation sector has been particularly hit. I am referencing Cork Airport, the second busiest airport in the country and a key economic driver of jobs in the southern region. The half-year results show that Cork Airport will potentially lose €23 million this year with passenger numbers, as we know, plummeting and jobs being lost in a variety of ways. The aviation sector is a key enabler of our biggest indigenous employer, namely, tourism and hospitality. I hope the Government will consider the economic impact through the task force report on aviation recovery and start looking at its implementation.

The path to rebuilding our economy begins with us and through the work the Government undertakes today with this Bill and the stimulus plan, but also through working with people to rebuild our economy. Our economy is about the men and women who are risk-takers but who are also employees. We must ensure that we get our country back in a safe and sustainable way. Members have referenced the numbers of people involved in employment being approximately 2.3 million, or 238,000 small and medium enterprises. It is critical, in fact it is essential, that our banking sector is not just spoken to, but is given targets to meet, and is held to account in how it deals in a fair way with business owners. We all have stories of how banks treat people. It is absolutely essential that the banks work with people. I know we must get the balance and we cannot go back to where we were. The Government should look at the credit union movement and how it can work with it. Money is sitting on deposit in credit unions that can be used to rebuild our economy.

I will conclude on this. It is about income support, grants, access to cheap credit and ensuring we can retain and create new opportunities for jobs. I welcome the Minister of State's commitment to youth unemployment. I thank him for his work and wish him well.