Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 18 June 2020

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response

State's Response to Impact of Covid-19 on Gaeltacht Areas and the Islands

Photo of Seán KyneSeán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. Bíonn ábhair ar social media ó na seirbhísí sláinte i gcónaí agus táim sásta leis sin. B’fhéidir go raibh fadhbanna ar dtús ach táim sásta go bhfuil dul chun cinn suntasach déanta i rith thréimhse na géarchéime seo chun daoine a chur ar an eolas.

There has been progress in ensuring that there is enough information available bilingually for those who speak Irish. I listed those provided by the HSE earlier. There are representatives of the Department on the interdepartmental group on Covid that will make the group aware, if others have not done so, of the responsibilities towards Irish speakers.

Covid has had an impact on the Gaeltacht and on the islands as there has been in every rural and, indeed, urban community, whether it is on unemployment, reduced income, tourism and all that goes with it. On what can be done, there are a range of supports. We prioritised ensuring that everyone would have some payment coming in weekly. That is why the pandemic unemployment payment and the wage subsidy scheme were put in place and why supports were put in place through Enterprise Ireland and through the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation.

On what else might come, assuming we continue to flatten or crush the curve, I assume there will be more opportunities for staycations. There is talk of staycation vouchers and things like that, which again would be a matter for the next Government. I do not know what might be possible. Dublin might be different, but so much of our tourism sector in rural areas is seasonal, in some cases weather dependent, and is impacted by a crisis such as this particularly during June, July and August. The next Government will consider what can be done to encourage things, including staycations.

We are also looking at digital hubs on islands as we have in Gaeltacht areas. That is important for remote working, something that has shown itself to be particularly important during Covid, which is why the outgoing Government has invested in the national broadband plan following the approval of the European Commission regarding state aid. That is important in rolling that out and giving opportunities to work from home, whether someone lives on an island or in the remotest part of the country, so that he or she does not have to commute. It is good for the carbon footprint, reducing costs, quality of life and so on.

I cannot answer specifically on working arrangements. Many of our islands are very seasonal. They are spring, summer and autumn to a degree, and some might hope for a season from St. Patrick's Day to October. Many businesses would close over the winter and some tourist towns would do the same. There are not specific areas but tourism is hugely important.

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