John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We cannot discuss Brexit without including Covid-19. One cannot have a discussion about Covid-19 without including Brexit. Both of them have shown the State to be far less effective than it should be. It has shown that the reforms that were suggested over the years and were not implemented are now playing against us. How ready are we to deal with the Covid-19 nightmare into 2022? How ready are we for Brexit?

I will point to a number of issues that are of grave concern to me. One is the hospitality sector. I come from Kilkenny, which is a tourism city, and during this summer there were one to two buses at the castle park where regularly the whole line of the street in front of the castle would be full of visitors and buses from all over the world. That has led to a serious problem for the hospitality sector because we rely on tourism. Those who are involved in tourism who were badly affected by the downturn and the financial crash and are only barely recovering out of that now face into other huge issues, which are Covid-19 and then Brexit. They are struggling financially, in spite of being big employers both in the hotel sector and in the services supporting the hotels, to keep their doors open and are being shown no support from the banking sector, the sector that brought this country to its knees. Now it is meting out a second beating to those businesses that are willing to take the risk, that have a good product, but are not backed by the banks because their credit rating has been lowered due to their history from the financial crash. The State should be providing some form of refinancing for those businesses so that they can continue in the work that they are doing and to give employment. That is not happening.

The second big sector in the country which is affected by both Covid-19 and Brexit is coach tour and bus operators. They have been brought to their knees by Covid-19 and by the actions that had to be taken by Government. We should be giving a tax rebate on their fuel directly to that sector, a tax break on the buildings that they occupy, and financial support to assist them through this time into 2022, because it is that year that is being forecast as a year that, maybe, the tourism industry may turn itself up again and people will begin to travel.

If we do not take these dramatic steps now to support these sectors, they will not be there when the turn comes in the economy, with Brexit or, indeed, with Covid-19 if we get a vaccine. There are so many things that we can do to help that may not cost the State money and we need the support of the banks to achieve those. Are we strong enough as a Government to tell the banks to support individuals with difficulties in their mortgages and businesses that are the backbone of this country at this difficult time?

The previous Government was not able to do it. I know the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, were to meet the banks again. I believe the banks will ignore them. We need to encourage another banking competitor into the market such as Sparkasse or one of those community banks that will give interest rates similar to those in Germany and support our businesses as we go through this, because what is happening in the economy, in pubs and in the general hospitality sector is shocking. It is shocking to see family businesses close down. It is shocking to see pubs boarded up. As Deputy MacSharry outlined, some of the measures are not supporting the reopening of those pubs or hotels in real terms.

I encourage the Government to look even beyond those sectors at the many small businesses that at one stage employed up to 1 million people and give them support because they are outside of most of the businesses that are represented at national level. They are family run businesses. They are in our communities and villages and, believe me, we will want them in the future. We will want to see those shops open to keep villages alive in the future, but if the Government does not invest in them now, we simply will not have them. Having someone creating a small number of jobs in any community is a massive benefit for that community.

Lastly, in the context of Covid-19 and the money that is being spent, the Minister cannot overlook the usual supports that are needed in such areas as the disability sector. In Kilkenny, I have seen the disability sector and its supports decimated. People cannot get respite. They cannot get special care in homes. Regardless of what we do to deal with the impact of Covid and Brexit, let us not forget those who are marginalised and less well off. Let us not forget those on hospital waiting lists. Let us put them first. This country has to be brave in terms of the risk it is going to take because it will be the saving of the next generation and those who are in business now.

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