Ms Elaina Fitzgerald Kane:

In respect of the CRSS, it is promised to run until the end of June. In our own hotel, we are able to apply for the full value of the scheme, which is €5,000. To give the Deputy a sense of where that money goes, it is used to pay insurance and does not even cover light and heating costs. There are also other expenses in respect of maintenance, contracts, etc.. Our light and heating costs are around €3,000 per week, but of that, 53% is made up of pass through charges, which are Government levies, and is a huge proportion. While we might be getting an inflow of €5,000, equally €1,500 is going out, so the net gain is essentially €3,500 per week.

The cash burn is immense. To give the Deputy a sense of it, when we talk about reopening grants, we were not even closed for the six-week period. Our own hotel in Adare was open for essential workers. Even though we were open for those six weeks, it will still cost us €120,000 to actually reopen in earnest. I fully appreciate all the reasons we, like the rest of the country, had to close in the week after Christmas, but there was an additional loss of €20,000 in terms of stock, etc. That will give the Deputy a sense of it.

The other question that she asked concerns the voucher scheme. We absolutely support any system that stimulates demand. However, there are lessons to be learned from the UK in its approach. It included everyone, happened at source and also applied to off-peak times. That is something of which we should be mindful.

Deputy O'Sullivan referred to the months of July and August. In the context of hotels, only 21% of bedrooms are booked at this point in time. We have had no net gains in the last three weeks, as anything that has been gained has been offset by cancellations. Therefore we are not looking at a buoyant summer ahead. In fact, it is fair to say that there is an acute lack of hope. For some, it is the hope of a staycation, and for others it is the hope of bridal couples who want to get married after setting the date for the fifth time. However, for the 270,000 people in tourism and hospitality, their livelihoods are very much on hold as part of this pandemic. We should never lose sight of our goal. The measure of success is about restoring sustainable livelihoods.