Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish the Minister for climate action, communication networks and transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, all the best in his new portfolio. My question relates to financial assistance for private bus operators. Since the outbreak of Covid-19 in Ireland in March, private bus and coach operators have suffered a devastating blow to their operations. National tourism has halted, school buses are not running and large-scale events have been cancelled. Therefore, these companies faced a surreal situation whereby business essentially ground to a halt overnight.

I have had talks with private bus operators regarding the situation. I am informed that they are facing a drop in turnover of 95% which equates to a loss of €586 million. This industry is now facing an uncertain future with the collapse of revenues only adding to the fact that these operators are normally highly indebted due to the high capital costs of buses and coaches. According to economist Jim Power's assessment of the Covid-19 issues facing private bus and coach operators, there are 1,721 coach operators in Ireland with 9,264 vehicles, with over 75 million journeys operated annually for tourists, school children and private hires. It supports 11,457 jobs and adds €164 million annually to the Exchequer in tax revenue. Overall, coach tourism provided €400 million to the Irish economy in 2018, with a turnover of €617 million in 2017.

The simple fact is that the loss of many of these operators would be detrimental to rural Ireland and its local economy. In my own county of Tipperary, for example, there are 73 bus and coach operators, operating 423 vehicles. The loss of any of these services would be bad news for local areas and the jobs they support. The impending closure of these operators will also put more cars on the road which may well undermine the programme for Government's commitment to a 7% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from next year until 2030. It will also increase the likelihood of higher traffic congestion and will affect the rebuilding effort of Ireland's tourism industry.

It is calculated that 17% of total costs are still incurred, even though all buses and coaches are parked up. The expected turnover for the industry this year is €620 million, with approximately €180 million to come from school transport, €170 million for scheduled services and €20 million from HSE contracts or Local Link-type services. A remaining €250 million comes from tourism and the private hire industry. Applying 17% to this figure would indicate a yearly subsidy of €42.5 million. The industry is proposing a subsidy equating to €32 million for a nine-month period to the end of March 2021. The industry also proposes a financial support package of €125 million for scheduled services, a further €1 million for student services and €14 million for specific services which combine to a total of €140 million. It is proposed that these payments will be made on a monthly basis with operators submitting monthly returns on passengers and revenue. This would allow a gradual reduction in subsidies when there is a gradual increase in passengers.

The programme for Government made many commitments, including improving connectivity in rural Ireland, giving greater priority to bus services by expanding quality bus corridors, supporting the tourism sector and accelerating sustainable transport plans for schools. Taking all this into account, can we get a firm commitment from the Government that it will support the private bus and coach industry in its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and explore avenues to ease the financial burden it has incurred as a result of the collapse in services such as those I have mentioned? This industry is in significant trouble and its survival depends on Government intervention.

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