Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for being here this evening. I thank him and his Department for all the supports that have been put in place for businesses right across the country throughout the past two years. The work the Minister of State's Department has done has been greatly appreciated and acknowledged from an employer and employee perspective.

This is an element of something that happens after the fact of Covid-19, which we acknowledge needs to be rectified. As the Minister of State said, it is an important Bill. It is short, obviously, but it is still important. We as a Government have been there to support employees and businesses, whether it is through the EWSS, PUP, Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS, or the range of payments that have been there for businesses throughout the past two years. We also need to be there to support the businesses and employees on technical matters like this.

This will obviously support the payment of employees if they receive redundancy payments over the next three years if they lose their jobs. It looks at the time period for which they were out of work through Covid-19. That is really important to recognise. It certainly was not their fault or anyone's fault that they were laid off.Employers did not want to lay off staff. We are doing this for those who were out of work for a specific period of time, essentially March 2020 up to last month. If I am correct, the cost per person is just over €2,000. While it is not a significant amount of money that the State has to put aside for people who might possibly lose their jobs over the next three years but it is an important element to recognise that this particular time when they were out of work would not have been the case under normal circumstances. It is important their redundancy payments reflect that.

As I said, this is really important. It is a necessary measure. Hopefully, there will not be too many people affected but for those who are, the State is here to support them. The Minister of State will be aware that businesses have had it very difficult over the past two years. In light of what is happening now in Europe, it is not going to be easy for businesses going forward either. For some, it could be even more difficult. The price of heating has increased to €1.40. On my way here today from Tipperary I pulled into a service station in Laois to get diesel, where the cost per litre is €2.04. There are people who monitor diesel prices all of the time, as I do, but I do not think I have ever been as shocked by an increase as I was today. When I was paying, I asked the employee at the counter if many of the people coming into the shop were expressing shock at the price they are paying for diesel at the moment and she said, "Yes". Her next response was, "We're actually putting up again tonight". It has almost never been done before, but the State needs to intervene in some capacity to support businesses.

Over the weekend, I had an engagement with a haulage company where I heard it would pay hauliers not to deliver the services and the goods they have committed to in contracts agreed previously. They have sought to revise prices with the companies to reflect the increase of the cost of petrol and diesel and while some companies understand and are agreeing revisions, others have refused and are sticking to what was agreed. The haulage companies would be better off just not delivering but they will not do that. They are, however, under immense pressure.

Where I come from in Tipperary many people have only recently returned to work post Covid. Many of them, as the Minister of State will know because he recently visited the area, are people who have to travel to work in places such as Cork, Waterford and Limerick. The State is crediting people €200 for energy bills. There are people in my town in Clonmel and in Tipperary whose travel costs per week have increased by €100. Before the Covid pandemic, they had to put only €100 per week of diesel into the tank to get to and from Cork over five days. The cost in that regard now is €200. We speak often about the increases in the cost of many things but this is beyond manageable for employees who need to travel to work and for employers as well. I know I am straying from the Bill but the current cost of fuel is unusual. The Minister of State and the Government need to support business through this difficult time. There is immense worry about where this is going to go and where it is going to end.

I welcome this Bill. It is really important. It is another acknowledgement that we get it that people need to be supported not only during the pandemic but post pandemic. There are long-term issues that remain to be resolved. I am happy to support the Bill.