Ms Ruth Andrews:

It is certainly a challenge for the industry, particularly in terms of facilitating new business, which was going to be critical given the level of pent-up demand for inbound tourism. We needed availability of car rental stock but, unfortunately, there is a lack of stock, which is down by 50% on previous years. The car industry members of ITIC have made it very clear that the issue is even if they had tried to get their hands on additional stock for this year, it just was not available for all the reasons we know, including supply chain issues with post-pandemic production. Trying to get cars into an island destination like Ireland brings its own issues. We have right-hand drive versus left-hand drive, for example.

The Deputy made a point around pricing but it is not just about pricing. It is also about availability. In an average year, 40% of holiday visitors need cars to get around the country, so the Deputy is absolutely right in that it will be detrimental to the rural sector.