Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to predict the outcome of what is going to happen in the next six months or year. I think the Tánaiste was correct, although some people criticised him, to be honest about concerns around the variants and the fact that this is not going to be immediately resolved. I hope the arrival of the vaccine and its widespread uptake and distribution, not just here but in other jurisdictions and other countries, will lead to a much safer environment. We will continue to learn about this virus and see how we can manage it. However, I do not think we should give any false promise or timeline as to how that would happen. Hopefully, it will be sooner rather than later. We are working collectively towards that goal.

It is not just in respect of the aviation industry. There are huge consequences for the tourism industry, hospitality and a whole variety of different sectors that are particularly badly hit. I listened to the Minister for Finance, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, and we have made provision for some of the contingencies we will have to cover. That will include, in all likelihood, extending the periods for the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, or other Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS, payments, many of which are benefitting the aviation, hospitality and tourism industries. However, there is a real challenge here. The fiscal capability of continuing to offer supports is going to be really tested but to date the Government has shown clear intent. We manage this by providing sufficient supports and by not leaving industries completely unprotected but we do not know the scale, timeline or nature of it and I cannot commit to it today.