Pat Casey (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. As stated by Senator Ahearn, everybody in the House is supportive of the Bill. As it progressed through the Dáil, equally there was support for it there. It is logical, common-sense legislation that is to be welcomed. However, I want to speak a little about the pandemic and the Government's approach to it. The Government has tried to facilitate everybody, from the employer down to the employee. It sought to ensure that those who lost their jobs were looked after through the PUP and it incentivised businesses through the EWSS to keep their employees in the workplace rather than making them redundant.

In his opening remarks, the Minister of State spoke about the resilience of businesses. That resilience was based on what Government did for businesses. It allowed businesses to survive. It gave them the tools to enable them to get through the two years of the pandemic. In terms of my own industry - I am not afraid to put this on the record - but for the Government supports our businesses would have closed. The EWSS enabled us to maintain ten of our 40 full-time staff for the full two years of the pandemic. Had that scheme not be put in place, those staff would have been laid off. Sadly, many people returned to their homes and they do not propose to return and so we are once again experiencing a skills shortage.

I welcome the two changes to take account of the Omicron variant, that is, the increase in the rate and the extension of the redundancy period up to January 2025. We do not yet know the full impact of the past two years on the viability of businesses going forward. A significant number of businesses have borrowed over the past two years. That borrowing now has to be repaid. Worryingly, over €3 billion was lodged in the tax warehousing scheme by small businesses. Those businesses now have to pay that back. That will be the struggle.

You could not have written the script. After coming out of Covid, before we know it we are into a war situation that is again testing the viability of businesses. Senator Ahearn mentioned the haulage business. I engaged with five hauliers yesterday. Senator Ahearn is correct that many of them are saying that one more hike in the price of diesel will park them up. The margins are getting tighter and tighter. An increase of approximately €1 in the cost of diesel will have a significant impact on that margin. Diesel costs would normally be a 30% cost for that business. It is now between 50% and 60% of the business. It is no longer viable for them. The Government will have to step in, whether through the diesel rebate scheme or a reduction in excise duty, which I understand is currently being considered. When transport costs increase all costs increase. We all need deliveries, be that the delivery of food, oil and so on. It is a cost that we all have to bear. I ask the Minister of State to take that back to those making the decisions. According to the hauliers, this needs to be done sooner rather than later. Every day we wait, business becomes less worthwhile for the haulage industry. Some will try to get out of contracts but others may just park up.

Everybody in the House welcomes this Bill. As I said, the Government has taken a common-sense, logical approach in terms of protecting the employee and the employer. I welcome the Bill and I look forward to its speedy passage through the House.