Banks are refusing mortgages to persons employed under Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme. Up to now, the Government has insisted that these were sustainable jobs, temporarily affected, but now it seems this is no longer the Government’s position. Many of these jobs are in sectors shut down by the Government.
On a day when Government said it will now consider the incluson of mothers returning from maternity leave under the COVID-19 wage subsidy scheme, I once again raised the matter of seasonal enterprises and workers who presently do not qualify under the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment.
In Dáil Éireann on Thursday, I spoke about a number of issues including:
• The limited number of ICU beds in the country and how we all have a part to play in keeping COVID-19 case numbers down.
• The potential long-term economic consequences for local businesses and their employees as consumers divert most of their spend towards multinational companies.
• The need for Government to include seasonal workers in the tourism sector in the Covid-19 unemployment payment scheme.
• The importance of holding further Dáil sessions in order for Government to remain answerable to the people of Ireland.
• And the need for our public doctors to be paid the same as consultant doctors from the private hospital network who have brought in to assist with the COVID-19 response.