Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister says, she is acutely aware that the tourism and hospitality sectors are among the hardest hit sectors. They are on their knees and they face into a long winter. The Irish Hotels Federation, IHF, has said that the weekly rate of new bookings has plummeted by 67% and it is looking at occupancy rates of 23% for October. It also estimates 100,000 jobs have been lost and a further 100,000 jobs are at risk, so it is massive. The pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, and the EWSS are being cut, and the July stimulus package was a major disappointment for the industry and they made no bones about that. The stay and save initiative launched today is not going to cut it either. It is October and the Minister has missed out on the holiday period. Children are back at school and so on. The initiative also excludes so many people that it is not fit for purpose. How can the Minister call that a stimulus package?

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