Shane Cassells (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I apologise as I am probably going to get called away in a second. I will pose a couple of quick questions. I thank both organisations for their presentations and for the work they do on behalf of the sector. It is appreciated. The stark figures outlined in the presentations demonstrate the severity of what we are dealing with both from an economic point of view and the point of view of sectoral interests.

With regard to the supports, the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, was before the committee at the start of October and was looking forward to the three or four-month period during which various incentives were to be put in place, one of which was the stay and spend initiative. There was a fund of more than €200 million for this scheme. In the context of the number of weeks for which we were in level 5, I expect that, if one were to break it down, somewhere in the region of €40 million was saved. Will that money be reinvested in the sector as grant aid? What sort of communication has there been between Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland and the Minister as to what is going to be done with that money?