Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We have become an expert in this country in setting up some type of group with a wide remit and waiting for a report if we do not want to solve a problem. While we wait for the report, nothing happens.

This is an urgent issue. The budget is only a few weeks away. Can the Minister confirm that some certainty will be brought to this wide range of sectors in the budget? Will provision be made, not just for a month or two but in the medium term, to ensure the survival of these vital parts of our society?

Anybody who owns a tourism business will tell us that international tourism has already been wiped out for 2021 because there is no certainty about how people can enter the country. There are no bookings. The new tax break that was introduced has now collapsed because under the new restrictions people are cancelling or are not making bookings. Nobody is availing of the scheme, other than those who can go to a local restaurant if it is open. At the moment, nobody is doing that even in places that have not been locked down. What has been done is okay, but we need a much bigger long-term plan.

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