Róisín Garvey (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for giving us his time today, which I am sure is very precious with all that is going on. I welcome the employment wage subsidy being extended to March 2021. That is important. The stay and spend incentive is brilliant overall and it is very positive that people can get 20% back on their spending, even if they spend only €25.

The cycle to work initiative has already proved fruitful over recent years. It is important that the grant has been raised but I want to say two things on it. First, it is important that we include farmers in the scheme because they have not been included up to now and I have had several phone calls from farmers who could use a cargo bike, regular bike or electric bike to go to their work around the land and care for cattle, carry food and so on. It would be nice if the Government could include farmers in that scheme. Second, while it is important that we have raised the amount of money one can get on the scheme, it should not be seen as a target. One can get a very good bike for €300 or €400. Some people seem to think that because the grant is there for €1,000 or €1,500, they have to spend it all. That is not the case. It is an upper limit, not a target. We will be working on the bike to school scheme with the Department, which is trying its best and has to prioritise. One cannot get everything in in the first go, but that is something I have been working on for a while and I wanted to let Senator Bacik know that.

The new enhanced and accelerated income tax relief for losses incurred by the self-employed is also important. We have many big companies, but in rural Ireland it is all self-employed people. It is massive for them to see we are supporting them and it also applies to farmers, which is a good thing for many rural areas. The Government is under a lot of pressure. We can all pick holes, but considering the pressure the Government is under and that this is an emergency, this is a good Bill and I strongly support it. It is easy to pick holes in things but we are all doing our best. My colleague, Senator Gavan, should not worry about the Green Party. I will take care of it and he can just worry about Sinn Féin.