Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the difficult decisions the Government will face with regard to reopening Ireland. It involves balancing the protection of jobs, the protection of businesses and the all important protection of our health.

Tomorrow is Black Friday, which is not particularly a term that I like but it is a term that seems to have crept in over recent years from the other side of the Atlantic. It is a reminder of the changing consumer behaviours and habits which will be even more apparent this year. Irish consumers spend more than €5 billion online each year. Of that sum, €2 out of every €3 goes abroad, which is a colossal loss of potential as well as money. The impact of this on the local multiplier effect is devastating. The local multiplier effect is a hugely positive economic fact, whereby every €1 spent locally generates up to €5 in the local economy. Every newspaper purchased, every cup of tea or coffee consumed, every appointment made or haircut received from the hairdressers or barbers, every prescription filled and every grocery item purchased in local shops, from sole traders to supermarkets, makes a difference of enormous proportions.

It is an understatement to say that the retail and hospitality sectors are in crisis. It is an unprecedented crisis and it is one which has direct implications and consequences for our communities and for city, town and village centres. I have seen the impact in Galway and in Dublin. I have seen it in Galway because it is my home county and I have seen it in Dublin because it is where this Oireachtas is located. Local businesses, from retailers to restaurants, that were institutions in their own right and that were central to communities, are gone. Retail unit after retail unit has been emptied and cleared out and it is a saddening sight.

It is important to acknowledge the actions that have been taken. The enhancement and expansion of the trading online voucher scheme is welcome. That scheme has been instrumental in supporting Irish local businesses to trade online. The introduction, too, of the online retail scheme and the restart grants have been welcome. However, I have grave concerns for local communities and for our town and village centres. Some of the local businesses that were previously successful and so central to daily life will not be reopening. These losses are not just financial or commercial but they are losses suffered by communities. There will be knock-on consequences, from job losses and lost revenue to lost opportunities.

We need to step up our efforts. We need a whole-of-government approach because it involves not only the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment but also the Department of Social Protection, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and the Department of Rural and Community Development. We have made progress in the recent past in terms of regenerating and revitalising communities. The Department of Rural and Community Development and its schemes and programmes, some of which I was delighted to be able to contribute to, show the progress and the difference we can make.

I also acknowledge the importance of the cash injection of the Christmas bonus to those in receipt of social welfare payments, including those in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment for 17 weeks up to 3 December. The payment to those qualifying under the pandemic unemployment payment will be made on 8 December. This is a very important cash injection for all in receipt of the Christmas bonus. I encourage everybody to buy Irish, buy local and protect jobs, businesses and our future.