Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Must musicians and the thousands employed in the arts and creative industries actively seek work, even though these sectors are in lockdown? Do those who own coaches, minibuses or any other vehicles used to transport mainly foreign tourists around the country need to actively look for work? Apart from anything else, this would have significant displacement effects on some sectors that are struggling to find a way to survive with Covid. These are sectors in which people are using their imagination, ingenuity and creativity to get back into the labour market in their own sectors. Are we telling these people that their sectors are closed and that we do not know when they will open but that training and courses are available to help them upskill in totally different sectors? That is inherently unfair, unjust and discriminatory.

Apart from anything else, it will not work. As I said, it will damage, devalue and demoralise certain sectors. I could understand looking at such options in six to nine months' time when we have a better sense of how the economy will stabilise but to do so now is a real blow to many. I specifically mentioned those who work in or own pubs and those in the music industry and coach tourism sector but other sectors are also affected. This should not be pursued for now.

I am pleased to see increases in the amounts available under the restart grants for businesses and an increase in their scope so they are no longer tied to paying rates. I have many times asked the Minister for Finance and other Ministers to increase the grant aid available to businesses that are trying to restart. The Minister's stimulus package will come as a relief to many businesses. Many just need a little bit of hope that, if they try again and restart, they will be given some real and substantial help. The economics must be right but we all know that, for entrepreneurs and small businesses, hope and belief are just as important.

The Minister's decision to allow people to warehouse tax debt without being charged interest on those debts for 12 months after the initial period of Covid-19 restrictions is also a glimmer of hope. People know that Revenue is not waiting to pounce and that gives them a little bit of hope.

I probably do not know enough about the area but it seems to me that more targeted interventions might have been better than the reduction in the VAT rate from 23% to 21%. If VAT was to be reduced, the one area that should have been looked at was the tourism and hospitality sector.

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