Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I received a query today from a constituent who has booked over 20 flights for a family event at the end of this week. The family does not live within 5 km or 20 km of the airport. It is not an essential trip. The family has not been offered a voucher or refund because the flight has not been cancelled. What are we doing for customers? Yesterday, the Covid-19 committee was told that no non-essential travel is advised. In fact, the Department has advised against travel which is not essential. The law on refunds for airline customers has not changed, but if flights are still running and customers cannot fly, what can they do? People need clarity as airlines fly and countries reopen.

The new restart grant scheme has been welcomed by those in the travel industry. However, the cap on annual turnover for businesses is a cause for concern. The ceiling affects several sectors, in particular the travel industry which has been severely affected. While many travel agents may exceed the turnover cap due to the nature of their business, the margins are not reflected in turnover. It is also a sector that will be slower than most to recover. There is a strong case to be made for the ceiling cap to be reviewed and perhaps applied differently across different sectors. Could the Minister liaise with the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation on this?

As we heard at the committee yesterday, exploring testing at our airports as a way of easing back into allowing travellers to come to this country presents problems. Are we considering adopting some kind of travel corridors where people from countries with low rates of Covid-19 are able to travel here without having isolation imposed on them? We cannot be left behind if other countries reopen and allow tourism to grow while we restrict growth here. The numbers in our airports have plummeted and as a small nation we will struggle to recoup those losses. We need to get the message out there that we are open for business and safe for visitors.

As our tourism sector has suffered massively, can bed and breakfast accommodation on a small scale offer isolation vacations as a way to combat the 14-day isolation imposition? Has this option been investigated? If other European countries impose a 14-day isolation and we make it mandatory to isolate for 14 days, can a traveller fly from one 14-day isolation period and be considered to be free of the virus, or must he or she go through 28 days of isolation? I ask this question in respect of those who are not pilots, air crew or medical staff and may have to return to Ireland for a certain period for their work and then return to another European country. Will the State issue isolation certificates for such workers to prove they have already completed a 14-day isolation period?

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