Mr. Seán Connick:

I am delighted to get an opportunity to speak to some new faces and some that are familiar from my time in politics. I have moved into a different sector. Today I am not just representing my own attractions - the Dunbrody Famine Ship and Irish Emigrant Experience and the Kennedy Homestead - as I am also speaking as the chair of the Association of Visitor Experiences and Attractions, AVEA. To echo what Ms Andrews has already outlined, the impact of Covid-19 on the sector has been fairly catastrophic. Some 75% of our business is overseas business. The pandemic has had a huge impact on us in the form of loss of turnover and business. Many of our attractions are supported by retail components and restaurants. All of those add-on opportunities for turnover have also been badly impacted.

We are very thankful for some of the measures introduced in the recent budget, particularly the VAT reduction. Fáilte Ireland has been very supportive, for example by working very hard with the industry and staying in contact with us as stakeholders in recent months. It has provided us with various supports, including finance. We welcome all of the agency's interventions and contributions. All of these small grants, and the various grants offered through local authorities, are hugely important to the survival of our businesses. We are currently in survival mode. We hope to move to a phase of establishing a more sustainable footing and then prepare for recovery. We are hopeful that next year will see continuing investment through Fáilte Ireland, the rural regeneration and development fund and education and training for people interested in coming into our sector. We are also mindful of the importance of a strong marketing campaign to support the domestic market, on which we will be very reliant throughout 2021. A marketing programme must also keep Ireland to the forefront of international visitors' minds so that when we recover, hopefully with the return of travel in 2022, Ireland will be at the top of their lists of destinations.

That is all I wish to contribute at the moment. I would be delighted to take any questions from the floor. I thank the committee for the opportunity to speak.