Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I would like to follow up on Deputy MacSharry's comments. The majority of Deputies in the House today will welcome the announcement regarding the Covid restrictions support scheme, but a number of anomalies have been brought to our attention that need to be highlighted. Like Deputy Nash, I commend the work the Minister and his Department have done on this issue, as well as the work of Revenue. As Deputy Nash said, the turnaround times have been very good and the process has been very efficient, and that is to be welcomed. At the same time, there are a number of issues and anomalies that need to be flagged.

I want to focus on one of those issues. I have been contacted by many constituents, specifically caravan and camping park owners, regarding their unfair exclusion from the CRSS. It is my understanding that in early December, Revenue updated the scheme guidelines to exclude camping and caravan sites on the basis that they involve an outdoor activity and that such activities are not ordinarily carried out from a business premises, as defined for CRSS purposes. I submitted a parliamentary question to the Minister's Department on this issue recently. The response stated: "Where a business does not ordinarily operate from a fixed business premises, such as a camping or caravan site or a boat charter business, that business will not meet the eligibility criteria for CRSS." I would like to make the counterargument on behalf of my constituents that many of these businesses do, in fact, operate from a fixed business premises. They have fixed physical structures, including reception areas, shops, laundry facilities, kitchen facilities, toilets and shower blocks etc. The business owners pay commercial rates, water rates and utility bills on those buildings. Camping and caravan sites are registered with Fáilte Ireland and are approved accommodation providers under the Tourist Traffic Acts. Revenue previously recognised caravan and camping sites as an accommodation provider under the stay and spend scheme.

The reply to my parliamentary question also stated that one of the eligibility criteria for CRSS is that a business would be carrying on its trading activities during the period of restrictions but for the public health regulations requiring the business to prohibit or significantly restrict customers from accessing its business premises. Many camping and caravan sites remained open longer last year to try to recoup lost trade from earlier restrictions and reduced occupancy. However, they were forced to close in October due to level 3 and level 5 restrictions. As a result, their Hallowe'en mid-term business was lost. Camping and caravan sites have been included by the Government along with hotels, bed and breakfast accommodation, guest houses and similar accommodation providers during all the levels of restrictions and have not had the benefit of lighter restrictions and earlier opening dates that some outdoor activities, like golf, were allowed.

I urge the Minister to take these points into consideration. Camping and caravan business is very seasonal and it has been severely impacted by the Covid-19 crisis, like all other tourism accommodation provision. Business owners are at their wit's end and do not know when they will receive an income again. I ask that the CRSS criteria be amended to include caravan and camping parks because they are currently struggling to stay afloat.

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