Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I know how important the hospitality industry is to the Deputy's constituency. I had the pleasure of spending some of my home holiday last August in Bantry and west Cork and it is a wonderful place for people to visit. As things stand, the employment wage subsidy scheme and the weekly Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS, payment will remain in place at least until the end of June and the 9% VAT rate will remain at least until the end of the year. The Deputy is absolutely right that the hospitality sector, along with aviation and the events industry, has been the sector hit worst, first and hardest and will, unfortunately, be the longest hit. Those sectors will need additional support well beyond June and well beyond the point of reopening because they will need to rebuild. These will be decisions for the Government down the line, in June and at budget time, but we are very well disposed to them.

See this speech in context