Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for bringing this Bill before us which I welcome and support. It is important that the Government supports measures to improve businesses and the outcome for employees who have been losing jobs in recent times. I come from the Roscommon-Galway area which is lacking in investment. There are many towns and villages with populations of less than 10,000 and the region is losing jobs due to the current climate globally and in terms of Covid-19.

I pay tribute to the Departments that are putting together policies to support businesses. In regard to the July stimulus, which I know is only one part of a parcel of policies coming forward, I welcome the value placed therein on further and higher education and on encouraging employers to take on apprentices. The stimulus also provides for upskilling and retraining and provides for an additional 34,000 places in further and higher education to allow people who have recently lost their jobs to reskill and, perhaps, to consider Grow Remote or other types of remote working to allow them to achieve an income for their families.

There are other areas I would like to encourage Government to support while acknowledging there are supports provided for in the July stimulus package that will come into effect in October. We need to encourage people to shop local and spend local. I welcome the €125 tax credit in respect of spend of over €600 on food and accommodation. In my own town of Ballinasloe Gullane's Hotel reopened today, which is fantastic. We need more support for our local accommodation such as hotels, bed and breakfasts and so on. We also need to encourage support for Fáilte Ireland and initiatives such as Discover Ireland, the Hidden Heartlands and the Wild Atlantic Way. We need to examine how we can ensure the policies we are bringing forward will support those agencies and those offerings. I ask that the Minister of State would encourage greater focus on areas outside of the major urban areas. I propose to engage with the Departments on how we can support the unique challenges in those areas.