Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Can the Minister honestly say the stay and spend initiative is sufficient for what the sector needs? A whole section of society has been excluded from it and it is only those who can afford to go on a holiday that will benefit from it. A voucher scheme such as that proposed by my party, according to which every adult and every child in the State would have got €200, would been a real stimulus package. Given the pandemic, the restrictions and the lockdown, if a person's county is in lockdown between now and April, there is hardly an opportunity to break away and he or she is not going to be able to benefit from it.

I sent a written question to the Minister and she referred to the tourism and recovery task force and the recovery plan that has been published. She said earlier she had seen it. She said in the written response to me that, if necessary, she will refine existing supports and consider further necessary measures. They need to be more than refined. There is a whole sector in hospitality and tourism in deep trouble and the first thing that needs to be done is the PUP needs to be restored and larger grants and initiatives introduced to sustain the sector. It is crying out for help.

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