Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all our witnesses and speakers for an informative session. Our guests have painted a very stark picture for their industry. The message we need to take back to the Government is that this is an industry in crisis and in need of support and intervention. Our guests have documented the supports they have had in Europe. We are an island nation, depend on the aviation sector, and must stand shoulder to shoulder with our guests at the moment.

There is a conversation about aviation occurring at present. We have a green list of countries that has been much criticised but the general, unchanged message from the Government has been that people should not travel unless it is essential. That has engendered a conversation about travel in many homes across Ireland. I wish to ask a specific question which I will frame now and expand on the detail thereafter. My question is about people who have flights booked for August and right up until schools go back at the beginning of September. Other people had flights booked during June and July and did not receive refunds. Are our guests in a position to give us some indication of the value of those flights and the numbers of people who were affected?

As I said, conversations are under way in homes and fall into two distinct groups. There are families who worked assiduously for the past year and saved money for a holiday into which they put a lot of faith and expectation. They worked doubly hard and perhaps took on a part-time job to pay for the holiday. They may have faced illness or bereavement in their households. There may be children in those households who are in difficulty in school or with societal issues. Those families had invested hope and expectation in the holiday they booked. Those people had no choice. They felt obliged to take the flight with a heavy heart and sense of shame that they were going abroad. They were unable to post pictures to social media or say that they had a nice time. They then had to self-isolate when they came home. Another group of people went through the same rigours of saving money for their holidays but were able to take the decision, in the interest of the national public health and for the welfare and well-being of their communities and neighbours, to not travel abroad. Those are the two cohorts of people about whom I am speaking.

We are building up to an expectation that our schools will return in September, which is important for child welfare and development. It is also very important for Ireland Inc. that our schools resume in September because we need to send a strong message to Europe and investors that we are open for business. We cannot countenance a situation where we are the last country in Europe that has not got its children back to school. For that reason, it is important that families should not feel pressurised to get on an aeroplane between now and the end of August.

I asked a parliamentary question of the Minister during the week and was left with reasonable hope from his reply that there may be consideration given to a refund scheme for the people affected. I am interested to know if our guests are able to offer any insight into the scale of what might be involved in that refund scheme. I would appreciate any detail on that matter.