Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister back to the House in the context of employment contributions. I wish to raise two issues on this section that are not strictly related to the Social Welfare Bill but have an implication on what we are talking about this morning.

The first issue is regarding the gratuity payable to members of local authorities where there is an issue in terms of their pension and entitlements. Senator Craughwell raised this issue with the Minister previously and she was very correct in her comments around the class K rate. In fairness, one of her predecessors, Deputy Varadkar, changed that during his tenure as Minister for Social Protection. There is, however, an issue with the gratuity being paid to some local authority members, which I know is not directly related to the Minister but it has a part to play in the whole social protection scheme in terms of what we are about.

I rise primarily to speak on the issue around employment contributions and in terms of employers' responsibilities. This morning we woke up to a myriad of news reports regarding proposals by the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, that will have a direct impact on the hospitality sector. I want to first of all say that the demonisation of NPHET by some is not correct. It has a role to play in that its job is to advise, analyse and put forward options to the Government. That is its job. It is looking through the prism of a public health perspective only. It is the job of the Government, in a broader sense, to implement Government policy. The conundrum for the Minister and many in society is that the job of the Government is to protect business, which includes the employers we are speaking about today and the contributions they must pay and make, and also the mental health of people along with public health.

The protection of public health is absolutely important. If, however, we are to have a situation where the recommendation of NPHET is to close hospitality at 5 p.m. then I believe that is a wrong move. I do not believe it is the correct decision to be taken now. Recognising the importance of public health and accepting the protection of the most vulnerable is what this Bill is doing. At its core, it protects the most vulnerable and those who are immunocompromised. This decision will have a profound effect on the businesses of our country and on the employers and employees who work in our hospitality sector.

My issue is that the closure of businesses will ensue. As we all know, difficulties are being experienced by many people working in the hospitality sector today. If we are to close at 5 p.m., however, that will have a gargantuan impact on the Government. It will force the Government to continue to support and put in place a further scaffolding of supports around our hospitality and aviation sectors and our night-time economy. What then happens when the public health advice is implemented? The hurlers on the ditch will have their say but they will go quiet. The responsibility will rest with all of us to ensure that we maintain the jobs in our economy and also the public health.

I understand that it is not an easy situation and that it is a dilemma that must be faced in a careful way. I am concerned that in this case, however, NPHET met on Tuesday. On Thursday, it went to the Government and on Friday, the Government met. We had an interregnum of two days. I know the Minister cannot answer me today because it is not under her remit. Can somebody explain to me, however, the difference between closing at 8 p.m., 9 p.m. or 10 p.m., as opposed to 5 p.m.?

I spoke in the House on Tuesday from the position of having experience as a former schoolteacher. I understand and recognise that many people were upset by what I said when I called for primary schools to close today for the Christmas period. The reason I did so was very simple. The majority of people in our primary school community are unvaccinated, wherein lies the greatest spread of the new and existing Covid variants. I recognise the childcare issues of parents and family members. I appreciate that most sincerely. We are now going to face a situation, however, where the Minister will come back to us and other members of the Government with an increased budget of supports for our hospitality sector and night-time economy.

In the new year, there must be a better way for NPHET to communicate with the Government. It is not acceptable that we have leaks on a Thursday night ahead of a meeting on Friday. It has the profound impact of creating a frenzy and scaring people. My final comment on this section is that I do not believe it is acceptable to close at 5 p.m. It will have a profound implication for our hospitality sector and our jobs. At the core of what we must do is balancing those rights of protecting employment and public health.