Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his contribution. Something he mentioned that I strongly identify and agree with is the extent to which our food supply chains proved to be very robust. I recall the earliest part of this crisis, during which one of the things we were worried about as a Government was supply chains and, in particular, food supply chains. They turned out to be really robust, and that is a credit to everyone involved. Whether in our ports or warehouses, logistics or haulage, everybody has managed to make sure that those supply chains remained robust and in place, and they deserve a lot of credit for that.

The sector that was first hit and hardest hit and will be longest hit, unfortunately, is the tourism, hospitality, events and accommodation sector. As the Deputy pointed out, here we are in this massive auditorium, with room for 2,000 people, but those people are not here, nor are they in our hotels, on our airplanes or coming through our airports. This sector will really struggle to recover and will need additional and special support to allow those businesses that can continue to adapt to do so. We also need to recognise, however, that some will not be able to do so.

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