Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Kelly, Mr. Gibbons and Ms De Saulles who is joining us remotely from the second most beautiful county in Ireland. I thank them all for being with us today. It was a great honour and pleasure to work with them for three years from 2017 until the middle of this year. I have seen at first hand just how hard they and their teams work. It is more than just a job. Those who are working in agencies such as Fáilte Ireland or Tourism Ireland must have a passion, and that is clear to everyone who has contact with them. I thank them for the work they do on behalf of the people of Ireland and I acknowledge the huge work that goes on behind the scenes. In particular, I pay tribute to the efforts that have been expended this year since the arrival of Covid-19.

Often with tourism events, whether they are overseas or here, we talk about the need for resilience in the face of shock events such as foot and mouth disease, the attacks of 11 September 2001, the ash cloud event or the severe acute respiratory syndrome, SARS, epidemic but nobody could have envisaged what 2020 has brought. It is ironic that this day last year, I was with Tourism Ireland - Mr. Kelly would have been there as well - launching the 2020 marketing plans. Who could have foreseen where we would be a year later?

It will be very important, as we move into 2021, particularly into the second, third and fourth quarters, that we are ready for the recovery and ready to bounce back. I concur with the statements that have been made on supports for business. I ask that every effort is made to speed up the processing of applications for business supports. It is also important that the CRSS be made available for the hospitality sector at level 3 as well. I am glad that was mentioned because level 3 is similar to level 5. Is there a specific focus for 2021, given that we do not expect to be fully back to normal? Is there a particular focus from Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland on the outdoors and on trying to promote activities that the consumer might be more comfortable with? Is the research showing that this is what people have an appetite for when they start travelling? Beyond that, assuming we will have a full vaccination roll-out during 2021, how long will it take to get back to where we were in 2019? Will we revert to 2019 figures in 2022?