Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is clear from the July stimulus package that the Government is dedicated to investing in key projects and supporting workers and businesses. An historic level of expenditure will see the State spending approximately €87 billion in 2020 as part of this package. This is aimed at injecting much-needed money into our economy by supporting workers whose employment has been affected by Covid-19, providing supports for businesses to keep them operational during the lockdown and investing in large-scale infrastructure and capital developments.

I will highlight some matters that need particular attention and support. I was delighted last week to organise a meeting between a delegation of Tipperary publicans and the Taoiseach. These people represented their industry and rural pubs exceptionally well and made their points on the reopening of pubs in rural Ireland very clear to the Taoiseach. I welcome the announcement that pubs will reopen from next Monday but I call for additional supports to protect and help these businesses and save jobs in the industry. While restrictions remain in place that will affect footfall and turnover, supports must be provided with no age restrictions.

Many rural pubs are family-owned and family-run. They are local employers and provide key services to their local communities. They are hubs that allow local people to meet, socialise and get out of their homes after what has been an extremely challenging six months for so many people in a mental, physical and emotional sense. Rural pubs are so much more than just a pub and for many people they function as the heart of a community. They need additional supports.

The Tipperary publicans made these points clear to the Taoiseach when they met him last week. These pubs now face large costs in their reopening, including restocking and getting the business in line with public health measures. I am calling for these businesses to be supported by allowing for a full-year waiver of commercial rates.

Insurance companies must be called upon to honour payouts for those who were insured against pandemics with an infectious disease clause. It is completely unacceptable that companies are holding payments owed to businesses affected by Covid-19 restrictions and which were covered under these policies.

I call for banks and lending institutions to be more flexible and give publicans the breathing space they need to get back in business. I have been contacted with stories of pubs reopening on a Monday and getting a letter from the bank by the end of that week indicating that the bank is aware the business has reopened and that repayments should be recommenced. Publicans are under enough pressure without adding this to the mix so soon after reopening their doors.

This week I have received much correspondence from people in the entertainment industry, which has been so badly affected by Covid-19 restrictions. In hundreds of theatres, venues and clubs, taking in festivals and events, the domestic live events and entertainment industry employs in excess of 35,000 full-time and part-time workers. The vast majority of these highly skilled people have not had any employment since the middle of March. Never in the long history of staging live performances and events on this island has there been such a sudden and total cessation of all work or activity.

This industry is very large and extends far beyond those who we might see performing on stage. It also covers backstage staff, management teams, video production companies and the list goes on. I have met some affected people in my county and I know all too well the impact Covid-19 is having on the industry. It was the first industry to shut and, most likely, it will be last to reopen.

I welcome yesterday's announcement that the pandemic unemployment payment will remain open for applicants until the end of the year instead of closing this month. I ask for the immediate reinstatement of the employee wage subsidy scheme for people who will face the toughest restrictions until normality returns. I also call for grant funding proportionate to what has been allocated by the Arts Council in 2020. The live events sector accounts for 90% of all tickets sold in Ireland and it is by far the largest employer and contributor to the Exchequer in this economic area.

I welcome the announcement by the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, of €6 million for a live performance and music industry package. It is a good start but we need to see further supports. We cannot afford to lose this industry and I ask for supports for these workers and their businesses until they can reopen and get back to doing what they do best, which is to entertain.

Travel agents are another prime example of businesses that are viable and profitable in normal times.

They currently have no idea when they will be able to operate normally again. Once again, I call for the continuation of the employment wage subsidy scheme for these businesses. As Deputy O'Dea pointed out, these companies have had no cash flow this month and have had to refund a lot of the previous month's cash flow to customers.

I refer also to tour bus operators. Some €10 million was recently allocated to them, to be distributed by Tourism Ireland. This money should be distributed on the basis of recipient companies' turnover from tourism in 2019, rather than the current basis of buses registered using the VAT 71 form. This change would mean that operators whose entire fleet is not employed in tourism would be eligible for some of the €10 million. It is essential that the €10 million fund is distributed to those tour operators who need it most. To allocate funds on the basis of 2019 turnover from tourism, the figures for which have been given to Fáilte Ireland, is the fairest means by far. I ask the Minister to impress this on Fáilte Ireland.

The businesses I am discussing are viable. They were vibrant and successful before the pandemic and can be again. They need the Government to act in their best interests now so that when we eventually get back to life as normal, we will not have lost these key businesses and jobs for good.

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