John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Many of the points I had intended to make have been well-made by other speakers. I want to outline my approach and that of my party to the Brexit omnibus Bill. From the get-go, we endeavoured to work with the Government, put on the green jersey and get the Bill across the line because it was the right thing to do and it was necessary. There needed to be a consensus to show across the water and throughout Europe that Ireland is united on this issue. The Government, however, has overstepped the mark in bringing forward this proposal, which is not Brexit-related. I do not see a strategy for how it would benefit the tourism sector, and indeed, points have been made about how damaging it will be. We have known since 1985 how beneficial the retail export scheme is for non-EU tourists, and particularly in areas outside Dublin, where it is estimated that almost 66% of the spend takes place.

The sector has been effectively wiped out by Covid-19 and is very much on its knees. Unfortunately, the Government's stay-and-spend scheme has been described as a damp squib. Even the Tánaiste has admitted that it has not had the desired effect and that, essentially, it is not fit for purpose. There does not seem to be a coherent overall strategy for trying to help out a sector that is completely on its knees. The initial proposal was to elevate threshold from zero to €175 but, thankfully, someone in government made a decision to bring forward an amendment to reduce that to €75. Clearly, that is not in line with the views of the majority in the House or, more critically, of the sector, which has said this is the wrong decision, not least at this time with everything that is happening because of Covid and the impact it is having. It will just decimate the sector.

Along with others, I appeal to the Government in the spirit of wearing the green jersey and how united people have been. This is the only amendment that Sinn Féin has tabled and it reflects how we see the matter. It was tabled in the names of my colleague, Deputy Munster, and others. Analysis has been carried out by Fáilte Ireland, which estimates that for every €1 million of tourism spend, 27 jobs are supported. It quantified the 2019 spend under the scheme as supporting 1,200 jobs. Given those figures and everything that has been said about the impact that Covid has had on the sector, it is imperative and right that the Minister not move his amendment and allow the subsection to be deleted. If he needs to bring it back, let him bring it back in some other legislation where there is clear rationale for it, and let us debate it at that point. Now is the wrong time to make the provision and the wrong mechanism is being used, and it is blatantly the wrong thing to do.

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