Need for new government to prioritise business restart
SENATOR Malcolm Byrne has said that any new government formed in the coming weeks will have to prioritise supporting businesses restarting and getting people back to work.
He said that measures to support remote working as well as realising and upskilling of those who have lost their jobs will be a vital part of the strategy.
Malcolm pointed out that “we have seen the highest ever peak in numbers out of work and the economy will contract to an even greater extent than during the global financial crisis of a decade ago. With unemployment now topping 28%, it will be a huge challenge for a new administration if it is formed.”
He has been pushing for specific measures to help business to be prioritised in the new programme for government, including on investing in technology and training to support remote working as well as giving reliefs for business to sustain employment. On Wexford, he has been insisting that a new programme will address the ownership issue at Rosslare Europort and how the facility can be developed.
The new Senator has also pointed out that we will need major investment in education and training to respond to the crisis as well as to deal with the technological revolution that we are going to face over the next decade.
He said that politicians have a responsibility to work together and not to pretend that there will be easy or quick solutions to the challenges ahead.
He added,
“People are frightened. We are losing loved ones and our freedoms have to be restricted. We are also worried for our businesses and jobs. We will come through this but it won’t be easy. It will be easy to be populist and shout from the opposition benches, but any new government is going to have to take brave and difficult decisions. Let’s all work through this together.”