Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Leader to arrange for a debate on the hospitality sector.This sector is a major employer and it is on its knees. It is big employer of students and part-time workers, a group of people who will not get or who do not want to work on a full-time basis. It is a great source of income for those people and for students going back to college year after year. The reason we need a debate is because some businesses will be reopening and others will not. They will not all open together because I presume the criteria that will be put in place will not allow small businesses, for instance, to open, which will be a huge disadvantage to them. We must ensure that people who will not be allowed to open their businesses and who have gone through trauma and hard times in the past 12 months will continue to get the pandemic unemployment payment and the other payments that are in place. It is very important that we have a debate on that matter at the earliest opportunity. We hope that some businesses will be reopening after Easter but I presume not all businesses will be doing so. We have to make sure that the payments for the ones that will not be reopening will continue into the future. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on the matter