Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy English. He has a difficult task today because he will be listening for two hours or four hours to Members putting in requests for what should be opened, what should not be opened and when they should be opened. The Minister of State has to answer those questions, knowing that there will be an official announcement tomorrow and not today.I will probably do the same, but from a cautionary standpoint, albeit while calling for things to open. I understand the caution. I understand the benefit of being cautious these past number of weeks.

I was someone, as I stated previously, who had Covid. I understand the implications of having it and the feeling one has of guilt of giving it to someone else. The restrictions that we put in place, whether it is in workplaces or in pubs or restaurants, or to socialising, were all about minimising contacts. I was quite lucky. I had two close contacts, which is unusual for someone in public office, and that is because of the measures put in place.

When we are making decisions tomorrow, we obviously have to put the health of vulnerable people to the fore. We need to be honest that if we start opening up sectors of society, the potential for increasing the number of cases quicker than we hope is always possible, but we have to protect jobs and we have to protect the economy. In some ways - Senator Crowe touched on it as well - the horse has already bolted in respect of Christmas. People have decided already what they are doing for Christmas, certainly on Christmas Day. It does not make a difference what level we are on; people are going to their families on Christmas Day. The decisions that we make as a Government need to understand people. These are good people who have adhered to all the messages over the past nine months and have strictly adhered to the guidance that has been given to them from the Government but Christmas is different. They feel as though they need to go to their family, to their parents and to their neighbours or whoever is close in their lives that they need to visit. When we talk about reopening Ireland, we need to be conscious that people have made up their own minds for that short period.

In relation to announcements tomorrow, I would ask that we as a Government recognise the importance that December has for people who go to mass and religious services. Many places can facilitate the number of people they would normally have attending mass. It is important, certainly in my area, that people will get the opportunity to go to mass and to have that service during the Christmas period.

It is a difficult issue but we also need to be able to do something to enable some sort of visit for very close family members of people who have been in nursing homes. They have not had anyone visiting them for weeks and months for good health reasons. It has been extremely difficult to be confined in one building with no close family members being able to visit for such a long time. I hope there is something we can do, even if it is that one family member can go in on Christmas Day and merely be able to wish someone well and support him or her.

In terms of opening up pubs and restaurants, we need to be consistent on this for all pubs and restaurants. We need to understand that wet pubs have proven that they can do the exact same as pubs that opened up already that served food. Wet pubs are well able to manage it the same. We need to recognise that if we have more pubs and more restaurants open, the flux of people will go to more areas and one will have fewer people in individual pubs.

There has been a number of supports brought through the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, including the online trading voucher. The Covid restriction support scheme, CRSS, payment has been welcomed by many people. One message I get from some pub owners in County Tipperary, in Clonmel in particular, is that if it proves to be the case that they will not be allowed to open, the 10% they get in weekly payment is welcome but for the Christmas period, that should be increased from 10% to a higher rate. This would take into account their fear that the Government will segregate them and treat them differently from other restaurants and pubs that serve food and that this should be recognised.

The restart grants went down well. We have 2,500 businesses in Tipperary getting approximately €20 million from the restart grant, and then from the restart grant plus. I compliment the staff, led by the CEO, Mr. Joe MacGrath, in Tipperary County Council. It is one of the fastest local authorities in the country to deliver, whether it be the restart grant or the restart grant plus. Businesses literally only had to wait until it was in their account to get it and they were so quick with it.

Can the Minister of State give reassurances to businesses in County Tipperary, in particular to the chambers of commerce, that we as a Government will continue to support the retail sector through the Christmas period? Can he give reassurances that we will do everything we can to make sure they have viable businesses going into the new year? Although the Minister of State probably cannot bring clarity today, I seek clarity on the confusion within businesses as to whether the economy will open up on 1 December or 2 December. When the announcement is made tomorrow, perhaps that could be made clear.

I support what everyone else has said in terms of black Friday and supporting people to shop local. We always do that in Tipperary and Clonmel. Now more than ever, every euro we spend in our local communities brings back €5 to the economy. If there was ever a year for us to shop and to support and buy local, and to encourage people to do so, this is it. It would be appreciated.