Government supports for businesses and workers do not measure up – McGrath

The supports announced so far by government for businesses and those workers who have lost or are at risk of losing their job as a result of the Covid-19 crisis are not adequate and further steps are urgently needed, according to Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Finance Michael McGrath.

Deputy McGrath commented, “Fianna Fáil supports 100% the national battle against Covid-19 and will use every opportunity to reinforce the key public health messages being advocated by the authorities. We all have to work together to contain the spread of this virus. In addition, as a party in opposition, we have a duty to highlight what we believe has been a piecemeal, underwhelming and poorly executed economic response to date.

“The response of the Irish government to date for the workers and businesses affected by the economic fallout from Covid-19 falls well short of what might reasonably be expected. This is the consensus among both unions and employer bodies. Comparisons with the actions of other national governments across the EU highlight starkly the inadequacies of what has been done so far here. With potentially hundreds of thousands of workers losing their job, the government here has to do a lot more.

“The Irish government’s response for workers and businesses has been weak and is way out of step with the response from other countries including the UK. Mixed messages have been given on issues such as whether interest will apply to loans deferred or whether employers wanting to pay their employees more than the €203 emergency payment could be facilitated.

“On the income side, it is not tenable to expect those who have lost their job to survive on €203 while waiting weeks for even basic child dependant or adult dependant top-ups. Government needs to do more, in partnership with employers, to boost the incomes of those who have lost their job or had their hours reduced through this crisis. This will not be cheap, but it must be done. We need to maintain the real connection between workers and their employer.

“The response to date for businesses has simply not been good enough. The centrepiece of the ‘package’ announced by Minister Humphreys eleven days ago – a €200m Covid-19 SBCI working capital fund – is still not available and is not likely to be up and running for another week. It has to be scaled up in size and made available urgently. Cashflow is the biggest issue confronting many businesses now. The government and the banks need to do more to sustain businesses through a crisis that is existential for many. There are no details of the €200m Enterprise Ireland supports announced on March 10th. We have heard little or nothing from government about the response of the insurance industry to date.

“Even in the teeth of this crisis, we need a team of people – drawn from the best talent in both the public and private sector- tasked with the job of putting together a detailed economic recovery plan. This plan must be backed up by a major fiscal stimulus. There is no way around that. Once the public health emergency passes, it will not simply be a case of switching the economy back on again. Without major government intervention, the damage to individual businesses and entire sectors will not repair itself. Fianna Fáil will be a strong advocate for the workers and businesses affected by Covid-19 in the weeks and months ahead,” concluded Deputy McGrath.