Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I receive daily queries from worried, uncertain, stressed and anxious people, each of whom wants reassurance and a flicker of light for the future. I want to raise a few particular issues with the Minister of State and I would appreciate if I could get a response in due course. Covid-19 has hit the bus and coach transport sector particularly hard. Since the crisis began, tourist numbers have collapsed, factories and offices have closed and the hospitality sector and all major events have ceased. The result has been almost total fall-off in passenger numbers, with a huge financial impact on transport providers. Private bus and coach operators employ 11,500 full-time staff nationwide and have a yearly turnover of €600 million. They operate 90% of school transport services and the vast majority of Irish commercial bus services. They also play a huge role in tourism provision. These are all services that will be needed in the future when the scourge of this pandemic ends. We look forward to the day when tourists will flock back to Ireland. We all know children will still need to get to school. People will want to attend events throughout the country. Everyone, once more, will be on the move. The question is whether the existing bus and coach operators will still be there to provide transport and assist in the revival of our economy. Under current circumstances, it is inevitable that many of them will be forced out of business.

The sector is not seeking anything more than others. It is asking for the introduction of a turnover-linked direct Government grant to assist with liquidity. It requires the restoration of the fuel rebate. In addition, it has identified the need for reclassification of VAT status to harmonise the island's VAT system to enable operators in the South of Ireland to reclaim VAT. This is essential in light of Brexit. It has also highlighted the need for supporting scheduled services to help to ensure a sustained and professional delivery of services. It requires membership of the tourism task force and the initiation of a new public transport recovery task force with an independent chair and budget.

I also wish to raise with the Minister of State another travel-related issue. This is with regard to travel agents. While the Government is keen to move to the co-ordinated system to enable air travel to resume, medical advisers, as we have heard this week, are emphatic they do not recommend any non-essential travel out of the country. Airlines command most of the media coverage on this issue but travel agents throughout the country are hanging on by their fingertips. When I first raised the plight of these businesses back in July, there were 190 licensed travel agents operating in Ireland. This number has decreased considerably and many of them have ceased to exist.

While travel agents were initially relieved to hear they were to be included in the Covid restrictions support scheme, as many of them need capital to continue, I have been advised by several operators in Tipperary and other places that they are finding it impossible to get any banking support. One particular business has applied no less than three times for a bank loan to try to keep the business afloat. It has been refused each time as it is impossible for it to confirm to the bank when the business can resume normal trading. Will the Minister of State confirm that travel agents are in fact included in the Covid restrictions support scheme? There is still an element of doubt about it. The scheme opened last Monday and already more than 1,000 applications have been received by the Department. Will the Minister of State confirm the timeline for the decisions on these applications? Are there other plans under consideration to assist this business sector, which has been one of the hardest hit throughout the pandemic?

I wish to raise the concerns and plight of learner drivers who, through no fault of their own, are unable to sit a driver test at this time unless they are deemed to be an essential worker. While this is frustrating in itself, to compound it, and what is grossly unfair, is that the insurance companies are penalising them because they are still driving on a provisional licence. This situation is impacting on 85,000 mainly young people throughout the country. It is estimated the financial cost to each of them in terms of increased insurance premiums will be in the region of €600. This issue must be addressed. Insurance companies should not be permitted to profit as a result of this pandemic at the expense of people who are powerless to address their situations.

Another group that feels overlooked by the Government are those aged over 66 who lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic. Many of them have borrowings and financial commitments that were entered into because they had income from employment. Due to their receipt of the State pension, they do not qualify for Covid payments. They still have to meet the same financial commitments on a reduced income. Will those aged over 66 continue to be unfairly excluded from receiving a Covid payment?

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