I agree that we need to follow the public health advice, look at how we can limit our social contacts, maintain distance from each other and dig deep at this time but it is very difficult. There is also a role for the State here in terms of the restrictions that have been introduced. When Donegal was moved to level 3, there was a surge there in claims for the pandemic unemployment payment. The number of claimants in that county increased by one third. Level 4 restrictions will result in other people losing their jo…

I wish to share time with Deputy Mairéad Farrell.

Today's budget comes at a time like no other, a time of great uncertainty and, for many, hardship. Covid-19 has upended and disrupted the lives of us all. Táimid ag déileáil leis an cháinaisnéis seo ag am iontach annamh. Seo am ina bhfuil a lán neamhchinnteachta agus do go leor, seo am an chruacháis. Bhí tionchar ag Covid-19 orainn uilig agus tá ár saol bun os cionn mar gheall air sin. It has impacted people in different ways. Citizens with disabilities face unprecedented challenges, with many at breaking point. Fa…

Following its meeting on Sunday, the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, wrote to Government to outline their concerns about the increasing number of Covid cases throughout the State. It was, and still is, an extremely worrying situation. Since the weekend, there have been a number of large clusters in nursing homes, including one in Convoy in my own constituency. The rate of admissions to hospital has been on the rise and the number of Covid-19 cases in ICU has risen, as has the number of patients on ven…

The Tánaiste said this should not be a matter of NPHET versus the Government and I agree. Everybody needs to get on the same page. It was not me, however, who went on the national broadcaster to take the legs from under our Chief Medical Officer. It was not me who engaged in that type of dangerous behaviour. I put it to the Tánaiste that, if it had been me, he would be the first to stand up and say that it was reckless, that it undermined public confidence and so on. The question is one of capacity. The real reason…

It is all in NPHET's letter. Read the letter.

That is what the Tánaiste should have been talking about on RTÉ on Monday.

Yesterday we raised the long-running concern that we have about section 39 workers and the need for the Government to intervene and ensure that thousands of workers secure pay justice. In response, the Taoiseach said that the Ministers for Public Expenditure and Reform and Finance, and wider Government, would continue to examine the situation. I understand that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has since written to ICTU, declining an invitation to intervene in the dispute. The Tánaiste knows that these…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire agus leis an Aire Stáit. Chuala mé an méid a bhí le rá acu ní ba luaithe. Tá cúpla rud le rá agam le cur leis an méid a dúirt mo chomhghleacaithe, go háirithe an Teachta Ó Snodaigh. Ceann de na rudaí atá iontach deas ná go bhfuil Aire anseo agus muid ag plé le cúrsaí Gaeilge agus Gaeltachta. Ceann de na rudaí a bhí de dhíth i cónaí ná go mbeadh Aire ag an leibhéal Rialtais a bheadh ag plé leis na ceisteanna seo. Le blianta anuas ní raibh ann ach Aire Stáit, agus cuirim fáilte roimh an …

Covid-19 has been an earthquake for our economy and the epicentre of that earthquake has been among those in low-paid employment, predominantly in the retail, tourism and hospitality sectors. The repercussions for them and their families have been enormous. The PUP was a lifeline for these workers and their families when it was introduced back in March. However, it also highlighted the fact that our social insurance system is not fit for purpose, something that we must rectify as we emerge from this crisis. The cut…

The pandemic, as we know, has caused huge financial distress for households and businesses right across this State. In other jurisdictions, the Minister's counterparts are ensuring that many of these individuals are protected during this period. They have legislated for payment breaks, including payment breaks where interest does not accrue. Crucially, for people living in Germany today, the payment breaks last nine months and, in Portugal, Spain and Italy, they last 12 months. Yet, the Minister sat as majority sha…

The Minister is the majority shareholder on behalf of the Irish people in AIB and Permanent TSB, and a significant shareholder in Bank of Ireland. What did he do yesterday? He had tea and coffee with the banks through Zoom and a nice friendly chat, where they came in and told him they are going to do what they always do, which is to deal with individuals on an individual basis. Even if Germany has done this for 21% of its customers, the Minister will have failed to address it for anybody after this month. Under the…

I have no problem making a full comparison. When the Minister compares us to Italy, Portugal, Spain or Germany, the difference is their finance ministers have made sure that, in those countries, people can continue to avail of payment breaks, depending on their circumstances. Here, where the Minister is unique because he is the majority shareholder in two of the largest banks, he has done nothing. The Minister has allowed these people to fall off a cliff, in a manner of speaking. The reality is that tomorrow is the…

Their credit rating will be hit.

Earlier this month, the Central Bank concluded its phase 1 review of dual pricing and concluded that the majority of insurers in the State were involved in this practice, which acts against their customers. This comes a year after I submitted a dossier to the Central Bank comprising a complaint outlining how this practice affected customers, how it ripped off motorists and homeowners, how it is banned in many other jurisdictions, including in the United States, and how a ban on the practice was being considered in …

What annoys me is that the Government is signalling today that it will wait until the end of the review. That sounds logical. I instigated the review because of what I had done with my engagement with and complaint to the Central Bank and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. Anyway, the first phase of the review has basically vindicated everything I have said. It has found the practice operates on a wide scale across the market. Many of these operators operate from Britain. The United Kingdom Financi…

The Central Bank has taken a year to confirm what I had submitted to it in the dossier. I am not knocking the bank for doing this. It will take a further year to finish phases two and three, which will include final recommendations. Then the Government will consider it. The point I am making in terms of Britain is that the insurance companies operating here are operating in Britain as well. There is no need for us to reinvent the wheel. These companies are ripping off their customers. Dual pricing is happening - we…

The concern of the employees and those who use the facilities of Ulster Bank, particularly, as Deputy Smith notes, in constituencies like mine and the Border constituencies where the bank still has a significant presence, despite a retrenchment over recent years, is if the Minister will communicate directly with NatWest. Does the Government intend to engage actively in the process or will the Minister just monitor this as everybody else will do? I know the Minister for Finance is not the shareholder and the bank is…

The Minister said the European Banking Authority guidelines suggest not extending a payment break. That is not what the guidelines allow for. In fact they allow for any extension to take place on the condition that it is announced and applied for before tomorrow. That is where the Minister has failed to deal with this issue. Deputy Ó Cuív is completely right. If this was done, banks would not have to hold additional capital and loans which cannot go back to full repayment of capital and interest would not be classi…

It did not take the Minister long to learn the Department line. The Minister claimed there is "irresponsible indifference" coming from Deputy Mac Lochlainn, who I commend for bringing forward this motion to the House. The Minister's party colleague drafted the alternative statutory instrument two years ago and brought a motion forward to this House to annul what was nearly an identical statutory instrument, which also penalised fishermen in the Minister's constituency and further afield. That was the first time eve…