Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. When I submitted this parliamentary question I was thinking of Lisdoonvarna in County Clare, made famous of course by the Christy Moore song. Almost every September, the town hosts an incredible festival to which people from all over Ireland flock, certainly the single people of Ireland. Ordinarily there are 300 or 400 people in the town but that figure has increased fourfold. No other place in Ireland has had a fourfold increase in population. The people of Lisdoonvarna have been incredibly welcoming and we can be very proud of receiving refugees. On the accommodation front, nearly every hotel in the town has availed of the scheme but one or two four- and five-star hotels are not configured for it. Outside the town, there is pony trekking and there are surf schools over in Lahinch. These are not businesses that can reap the benefits - if I can put it that way - that hoteliers can reap. They are seeing their businesses collapse. I hope the Minister can push on with a business support scheme. I believe a lot more than €10 million is needed. The scheme needs to be targeted at places like Lisdoonvarna and other towns along the west coast that have had thousands of people funnelled through them without supports. As we head into the winter period, we need to fund these businesses so they start 2024 in good shape.

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