Deputy Mary Lou McDonald - speech from 04 Jun 2020

I want to start by extending my heartfelt condolences and sympathies to those that have lost loved ones to COVID-19 in the past few days. These are very difficult times for so many who are coping with profound grief. I also want to send good wishes to those who are currently sick with the virus and I wish them a full and a speedy recovery. We are walking a long road and our battle with this virus and with the disruption that it has brought to our lives continues. All the signs suggest that we are heading in the right direction. The numbers of deaths, hospitalisations and cases have fallen very significantly. Much progress has been won thanks to the strength and the dedication of the Irish people and now we must stick the course and see this through. The life of George Floyd mattered and his death and the manner of his death matters too. Racism is, as you say, a virus and it is a global one. And while we stand in solidarity with all in the United States of America as they face now into the ugly reality of systemic racism and the challenge of solving that, of overcoming it, we too have to do our bit. Rhetoric from the Irish system, whatever its source, that decries racism but that fails to dismantle the disgraceful, discredited system of direct provision is no good at all. Rhetoric that decries racism but still allows open, blatant discrimination and injustice against our travellers' citizens is of no good either. And would beg the response from all onlookers, physician, heal thyself. Racism is a virus. We have the diagnosis. Now we need the treatment. Now we need to ensure that we take direct and definitive action. The ball is in our court. What do we do? That is what the death of George Floyd asks of all of us. Taoiseach, reports this morning that you're preparing to cut the pandemic unemployment payment for thousands of workers have come as a huge blow for people who are struggling to cope with the economic impact of this public health emergency. Last night, many workers breathed a sigh of relief when the Minister for Finance, Pascal O'Donoghue, announced that the payment would be extended beyond the 8th of June. But today, that relief has been replaced with stress and with anxiety about the future at a time when people need security and certainty. Beg si, mi ciaart an iach geacht si a gara acus coerhi si strus arigadis ar galór tiauli. Nú rach Hailand dine a quidch fust Nú aach ríin a quidch custus ma rach tóla Tó bíli le thíoc Tó arigad fóis le fól Tó dúlgis ar dine bíe a coer ar an mord Agus cohi solóhar a vedd dainta da fóis dí Cutting the Covid payment would be deeply unfair and leave many families in very difficult financial straits because when people lose their jobs they lose their incomes but the cost of living doesn't go away The electricity and the gas bills still have to be paid Money still has to be found for the rent or for the mortgage Food has to be put on the table Children have to be provided for Indeed, the ESRI has said that cuts to these payments would lead to an increase in mortgage arrears The Covid payment has helped workers and families to keep the wolf from the door during this pandemic and the mantra from government, remember, throughout this crisis has been that we're all in this together Well, Taoiseach, your plan to cut the Covid payment completely contradicts this message In fact, it demonstrates that while we might all be living through the same storm we are certainly not all in the same boat Thousands of workers who have lost their incomes through no fault of their own will now have their protections slashed and that will have very serious consequences I acknowledge that there are anomalies in the emergency schemes I want to acknowledge also the correction of the anomaly around women returning from maternity leave There are anomalies with the Covid payment and these should have been sorted out weeks ago whether it's the exclusion of 66-year-old workers from the payment or at the other end of the scale a student who would work one shift a week However, it's grossly unfair and unacceptable to introduce a blanket cut to the payment for all workers who work less than full-time hours That's a very blunt instrument I think it's poorly thought out and a bad approach from government It's also another example of where your government plans to reopen the economy are totally disjointed It's similar to your shambolic approach to childcare where the sum total of your plan is to send people back to work with no solution for their child-minding needs and it's incredible that as large sections of the economy are still shut your government is planning to withdraw income on which people depend You say that this was an emergency payment Well, the emergency is still here, Taoiseach So this suggests to me that your government really doesn't have a clue or maybe doesn't want to have a clue about the pressures of ordinary people at this time It's a grossly unfair move and it's a bad decision for the economy because we need to boost domestic demand and that means protecting, not slashing household income At a time when consumer spending and confidence is down the best thing the government could do is to support demand That's the smart thing to do I think it would be the height of recklessness to withdraw income from people and to deny that income that is being spent currently in the local economy Our position is, as you know, clear from Sinn Féin Nobody who has lost income as a result of this crisis should be worse off again as a result of cuts to income supports And to ensure that this happens we believe that the emergency COVID payment should continue until the end of the year So can you tell me Taoiseach are you really suggesting cutting payments to hundreds of thousands of workers by 40% overnight? Can you tell me what these proposals will mean for people working less than 40 hours? Perhaps 35 hours a week Can you tell me what's going to happen for seasonal workers who work one or two jobs for most of the year but who were on less hours in January and February What about them? Do you understand that the move that you're proposing to make will drive households into debt? Have you factored that in? Do you understand that such a move will undermine the repairing and the growth within the economy? What of the SRI who say that a move to cut these payments would cause mortgage arrears? Have those been factored in? Taoiseach, these workers and families should not have learned of your plan to cut their money, their income, in a newspaper I really think it's the height of disrespect the way your government handles matters The Minister for Finance reassures people that everything's okay on one evening and then the following morning all across a national newspaper is news that in fact know your income is going to be cut These are real families These are real families in real time who have to really provide for themselves and as we speak today you have now caused incredible stress and an incredible grief for those families so can you in the short time available answer those questions around seasonal workers those working less than 40 hours and what of household debt that inevitably will follow from the cut that you're planning? Thanks Deputy you've got it wrong I'll be happy to set the record straight for you but by getting it wrong once again you're the one who has caused stress for a lot of people who are in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment today it was a payment introduced by a government that I lead 350 euros a week a flat rate one of the most generous in Europe I stand over it contrast that to Northern Ireland where Sinn Féin is in office and it's only 100 pounds a week contrast that to Spain where there are centre-left governments in coalition with far left where it's something like 125 euros a week so I stand over that as things stand the pandemic unemployment payment is due to expire next week Cabinet will make a decision tomorrow on its future and I can give this assurance to anyone who's in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment today it will be extended for months not for weeks anyone who was working full-time prior to the pandemic happening will not see their unemployment payment cut they will continue to get 350 euros a week yes some people who were working part-time before the pandemic will see their payment reduce but they will still get more than they were getting on a weekly basis before the pandemic hit in February so nobody's income will be lower than it was before the pandemic as a consequence of the decision that we make tomorrow the position with seasonal workers remains unchanged deputy deputy