Ben Dunne labels Government's Covid-19 workers' payment 'a disgraceful insult'

Ben Dunne said: “I wouldn’t have it on my conscience to pay someone €203 a week and ask them to try to live on it.”

One of the country’s best known businessman, Ben Dunne has described the Government’s €203 Covid 19 payment to laid off workers as “an absolute insult” and “disgraceful”.

In an interview, Mr Dunne stated: “I wouldn’t have it on my conscience to pay someone €203 a week and ask them to try to live on it.”

Mr Dunne’s comments are part of a growing chorus of criticism concerning the €203 payment as speculation mounts that the Government is finalising details of a massive wage subsidy scheme where laid-off workers could receive up to 75% of pay.

On Saturday, the Minister for Social Protection, Regina Doherty stated on RTE radio that the Government was not expecting people to live on the €203 a week Covid-19 emergency payment indefinitely.

She stated: “We now recognise that we will have to do something different. We are working on it since Thursday...and I hope in the next number of days the Minister for Finance will be able to make an announcement on what it will be.”

Like thousands of businesses across the country, the Ben Dunne Gym group has shut its doors. It closed last Thursday week with the temporary loss of almost 100 jobs.

Mr Dunne revealed that he is paying his full time staff 100% of their salaries for the month of March and 60% of full-time salaries for April.

He said: “My staff have enough problems worrying about their elderly, childcare and their own health so I want to give a small bit of clarity to the small number of people that I employ.

They know what they are earning for the next two months and I think that takes a little bit of pressure off. Every bit of pressure off can only be good for them.

'Start austerity at the top'

On the €203 Covid-19 payment, Mr Dunne said: “The Government put masses through austerity 10 years ago and here they are at it again.

“Why don’t we do austerity the other way around and start austerity at the top and put them down to €203 a week and see how they live."

He added: “The €203 amount allocated to the 'Ordinary Joe Soap' is disgraceful. It is an absolute insult. An awful lot of people are going to be left with a very, very low wage packet."

I wouldn’t like to try to live on €203 a week and I know that they are a lot of people barely living on that.

He added: “This is the first time in my life that an economic crisis is not caused by finance - money is not the cause and we are stretched like we were never stretched before."

He said: “The airline business is on its knees - everything is on its knees. I’m just wondering how many people will be able to bounce back because they won’t be able to survive this.”

Asked on the lost revenues for his own business which comprises of 11 mainly Dublin-based gyms, Mr Dunne stated: “In round figures, we are talking around €1.5m per month."

Mr Dunne stated: “Before Covid 19, business was going extremely well for us. That’s life and you never go through life without falling into pot-holes.

"The most important thing is knowing you’re in a pot hole and getting out of it without doing too much damage to yourself.”