Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will continue the trend here today and congratulate the Minister on becoming a grandmother. I wish Deputy Humphreys well and congratulate her and baby Arthur. Like others, I hope Arthur's mother is recovering well and doing well.

The Minister must be quite a popular grandmother with the introduction of the increase in parental leave from two weeks to five weeks. I know from my own experience. I had a conversation with my wife only this morning and she was discussing the year ahead and when could she possibly take the three weeks extra that she now has. She has never had as many holidays as she will have in 2021 and we were discussing this morning when would it be possible to take the extra three weeks. My wife was asking me when the country will reopen - a question no one can possibly answer.

From personal experience, that parental leave extension from two weeks to five weeks is really significant to people who have had children in the past year. Senator Ardagh would understand this as well. It has been quite difficult during Covid not to be able to bring one's children out and for them not to be able to interact with other children. One has those natural worries that most parents would have that one has a child who, in my case, is one year old, who has not interacted with too many children of his own age and almost thinks that the only people who exist in the world are his two parents. The extension of those three weeks is quite important. It is a recognition that the maternity leave that they have had has not been the same as that under normal circumstances.

I commend the Minister on all the work she has done since she has taken over the role in the Department of Social Protection and, in particular, commend her staff and all the staff of the Intreo offices all around the country. Senator Dooley stated that we need to be careful in terms of how we commend the work and this is money that is being given to people who are going through a very difficult time. I agree entirely with the Senator but when people speak, and they are commending the Minister and commending the Department, it is in terms of the efficiency of the Department. Almost overnight this country was put into a situation where we had to support so many people right across the country and not all the officials in every Department have been able to transition to where the Department is now. It has taken other Departments quite a long time to be able to bring through supports or make changes within themselves whereas the Department of Social Protection has been on the ball from the very start. In particular, I am aware of this in my own county. There are 12,803 people in Tipperary claiming the pandemic unemployment payment. That cost €147 million up to the start of January. I would ask the Minister that when she extends the pandemic unemployment payment, which obviously has to be done, the rates remain the same as the certainty of having that payment is really important going forward. The people receiving the payment would not normally be used to being on supports many of whom have been working all their lives.

It is important to remember that before Covid we had 4.8% unemployed and the rate had come down from 15.% in 2011. We have proven before as a Government party that we are able to create jobs and get people back to work. That is what we have to do again and Deputy Humphreys, in her position, will be able to do that.

A question I am getting from a lot of businesses concerns the Covid-19 restrictions support scheme payment and supports for businesses that have been shut down, not necessarily by Government intervention, but on the back of other businesses being shut down.I know that the Tánaiste, the Minister and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, will do everything they can to support those businesses.

I will delve into Deputy Humphreys's brief as Minister for Rural and Community Development. The work she has done in that Department is phenomenal. My own county, Tipperary, has been given €36 million since the Department got up and running. We are often asked whether we do enough for rural areas and the Minister knows as well as I do that we need to support rural areas outside Dublin. The Minister has given €36 million to Tipperary. Only two weeks ago, she gave €200,000 to Marlfield under the town and village renewal scheme. Kilsheelan received €90,000. Those towns have never before received such funding and I know that more announcements will come through on the back of that. I was at the turning of the sod of Fethard town park. The Department of Rural and Community Development gave €2.6 million to transform that small town and make a community and sports centre. It is important to recognise the immense work that the Minister is putting in as a part of that Department and I thank her for it.