Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that the Minister is here today and if he does not get time to answer my questions, I would be grateful for a written reply. I remind the Minister of the people who were trapped abroad when the close-down came and found themselves calling Aer Lingus call centres, which happened to be in India. I have nothing against the good people in India, but I have examples here of the phone only being answered after two hours. Could the Minister imagine being on holiday, ringing a call centre and waiting for two hours and 55 minutes, three hours and ten minutes or two hours and 15 minutes to talk to somebody in a call centre in India instead of Fexco in Cahersiveen where the call centre was previously? When these people answer the phone, the first thing they say is that they cannot hear or understand the caller, and then they put down the phone. That happened to our people when they were abroad and trying to deal with Aer Lingus. I am calling out Aer Lingus because what it did to people was a scandal. It was horrible to do that to people who were on their holidays and trying to get home. I ask the Minister to highlight that and do something with Aer Lingus and its bloody call centre. I have nothing against India but this was wrong.

When will young people who have learner permits be allowed to sit their driving tests? When will the tests start again? Many of these people are front-line workers and need their vehicles to carry out their duties. When will NCT and commercial vehicle roadworthiness test, CVRT, centres reopen? Many people, specifically owners of commercial vehicles, cannot tax their vehicles without having a test.

As the Minister knows, County Kerry is the tourism capital of the world. Kerry County Council, which is the best local authority in the country, stated at a recent briefing of its elected members that tourism in County Kerry is worth more than €600 million. Due to Covid-19, initial projected losses are now close to €500 million. The hospitality sector in Kerry especially and throughout Ireland has been decimated. This sector needs a number of measures implemented to help it, namely, business interruption grants to help businesses to reopen and interest-free capital grants that are repayable over time. Businesses cannot afford to take out any more loans. They need grants. Local authority rates and water charges need to be waived for the duration of the business interruption and initial recovery period due to Covid-19 and not just for three months as announced previously. The hospitality VAT rates and employer PRSI contributions need to be reduced to nothing until the industry has recovered.

I commend the Taoiseach suggesting the idea of a 0% VAT rate in this House last week. The VAT rate should never have been raised in the first instance. I need the Minister to ensure that it is lowered to help save what is left of the industry. Insurance grants to cover business, public liability and property insurance are needed for the duration of the crisis. The Government needs to require the insurance industry to be more flexible with charges for businesses that are closed.

Many seasonal workers in the hospitality trade, along with people over 66 who may be running bed and breakfast accommodation or pubs, for example, have been barred from the pandemic unemployment payment simply because the majority would not have been back in work or open until the St. Patrick's Day weekend or 1 April. What can the Minister do to try to correct these wrongs? Will his Department actively engage with local authorities to support a new strategy for domestic tourism when it is safe to do so?

Can the Minister commit that the sports capital programme will go ahead as usual at the end of this year? Will the Minister make a statement on the Macroom to Ballingeary bypass, which is very important for people coming from County Cork into County Kerry and vice versa? It is to begin and everything is in line but I want to ensure that the Minister will guarantee to the House that no financial constraints will stop that major project from going ahead.

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