Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Mattie McGrath. I will allow the Tánaiste a few minutes. He might be able to respond to some of the questions I ask. Businesses are in serious trouble all over west Cork and the rest of Ireland. Representatives of SMEs, to whom I speak every day, ask the same question, that is, how they are going to survive. The Tánaiste is not a miracle man with all the answers for me tonight but I sincerely hope that he has some.

I want to concentrate on the tourism sector. The hotel sector is struggling to hang on. Many hotels opened their doors recently but others in west Cork, and even some up here in Dublin, have remained closed for a number reasons. In order for hotels located in rural Ireland to survive a difficult winter, they will have to see changes made in order to ensure that the wage subsidy scheme continues. It was announced last weekend that the scheme may include seasonal workers. This would be most welcome. What are hotels being promised in the context of the July stimulus package? The Tánaiste should remember that he will get one chance to save hotels in west Cork and throughout the rest of the country. I ask him them to give them a lifeline.

Hotels are desperate to find out now, but not in six months when they might be out of business, whether the rate of VAT will be, or can be, lowered to 0%. At the start of the Covid pandemic, I called for that, and many Fianna Fáil Deputies have called for it since. Am I standing on my own or will this Fianna Fáil Government deliver for the tourism sector?

The publicans are being given a raw deal. For many, the compensation package through the council has been worth a couple of thousand euro to date. What does the Tánaiste have in mind for these honest, hard-working people who provide 50,000 jobs in this country? The Taoiseach said on Monday that he is considering extending the closure of pubs throughout the country due to the carry-on of some pub owners, mainly in Dublin. This is totally wrong . He should not tar everyone with the same brush. Admittedly, there are a few publicans who believe that they can do anything they want but most genuine publicans throughout west Cork and the rest of the State are honest-to-God employers. Most of the pubs in question, being family run and without mortgages, say they face ruin and closure if they are not allowed to reopen and if the 2 m social distancing requirement is not reduced to 1 m in a way that is safe for them and their customers. What has the Tánaiste planned for these businesspeople in order that they can reopen their doors, although they are expecting a downturn in their business?

The VAT rate pertaining to the sale of alcohol could also be considered. Publicans are struggling in these times and they need assistance. I ask the Tánaiste to step in and basically save the businesses. This also applies to café and restaurant owners, whose sector is also struggling in a major way. They have to take on extra staff but they have fewer customers.

Whether it is a café owner in Schull or Castletownbere through to businesses in Innishannon, these people are struggling and need some kind of survival package quickly. Will the Minister give them any hope tonight?

Bus operators are barely hanging in there and are unable to operate in any fair way. I am thinking about those people who own or have bought their own buses and run routes where Bus Éireann does not. We should remember that Bus Éireann has been funded by the Government through this crisis but these operators did not have such funding. Has the Government looked at the case of these bus operators and what has it planned for them? The same point applies to taxi and chauffeur operations, as those businesses are hanging by a thread. What is planned for these businesses? I know they do not pay rates, but along with many other businesses that do not pay rates, they are severely affected by the Covid-19 crisis. Many of these businesses are asking the same question as to what the Government has in mind for their sectors. I would appreciate it if the Minister could lay out his plans for those businesses now. It seems my questions will not be answered, unfortunately.

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