Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I refer to the July stimulus package that was published yesterday. In advance of the Social Welfare (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill 2020 and the Financial Provisions (Covid-19) (No. 2) Bill 2020 coming to the House next week, I have serious questions about what was announced yesterday.There can be no doubt that the injection of €5 billion in additional spending into our economy is badly needed, but let us be clear as to what needs to be fixed and what the July stimulus does and does not do. There is no doubt that businesses need support and the vast majority of the firepower announced yesterday was directed at them. For workers, there were some assurances on the continuation of the temporary wage subsidy scheme, but there was very little reassurance yesterday for people who are out of work, especially those in sectors that cannot open until there is a vaccine or treatment for Covid-19. I am thinking of the arts sector in particular. As the National Campaign for the Arts has already stated, this sector was the first to close and will be probably be one of the last to reopen. Many venues simple will not be able to open and many performances will not take place. The key issue is that a number of announcements were made yesterday on the performance fund and the arts but there was no detail. The only clarity we got was that the pandemic unemployment payment is to be cut, which is deeply regrettable for those in the sector, many of whom were already on very low pay prior to the outbreak of the pandemic. There are also anomalous situations involving people who were dependent on State benefits in 2018 and freelancers. I refer in particular to those on maternity benefit who were working in the arts and who have not been allowed to count that maternity benefit as reckonable income in determining their entitlement to the pandemic unemployment payment.