Results 7,941-7,960 of 11,299 for speaker:Colm Burke

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: SME Recovery (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: Does Mr. Butler think this is fair? Two people are getting their full salaries and there is no risk to any of the companies they are employed by and the banks are saying that because the word "Covid" is on the payslip of one of them, they are not prepared to allow the drawdown?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: SME Recovery (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: I want to touch on one further issue, that is, State agencies paying suppliers or contractors. Have the witnesses come across evidence of substantial delay in paying people who have completed work on the part of either State agencies or local authorities? What needs to be done to eliminate that problem? It is contributing to cash flow problems for companies.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: SME Recovery (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: Should the relevant Government Department not check its own system to make sure there are no delays and to ensure there is no new set of rules around drawing down payments which was not there three or four months ago?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: SME Recovery (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: I thank Mr. Butler.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Hospitality Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: I will move on to the issue of insurance. All of the industry members the witnesses represent have had three months where there has been no activity. Footfall through the premises for the overall 12 months is going to be at most only 60% of what it would normally be. I had a conference call with some of the members of the Irish Hotels Federation in Cork two or three weeks ago. This was...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Hospitality Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: Just to give the general public an idea, the quote given to me by one of the hotel owners was that they were paying €90,000 in insurance costs. Would that be reflective of a 100-bed hotel or would it be a lot more than €90,000?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Hospitality Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: We are talking about €2,000 a week in real terms, if we put it into that context.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Hospitality Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: I also want to talk about commercial rates. Again, there is not much knowledge among the general public about the cost of commercial rates to hotels. One of the quotes given to me was that one hotel in Cork is paying €420,000 per annum in commercial rates. Across the country, for a 100 bedroom hotel, what would be the commercial rates? I am referring to rates paid to the relevant...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Hospitality Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: It is important to get that information out there because it is vital that people see the cost factor involved for hotels. It was suggested earlier that the temporary work subsidy scheme be extended. What kind of extension do our guests envisage in this regard and what changes would they make to the existing scheme?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Hospitality Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: The restaurants located on the street on which my business is located have been seriously affected. Do the witnesses have any idea of the number of restaurants that will not reopen? Is there feedback to indicate the percentage of restaurants that will not do so?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Hospitality Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: And insurance companies.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Arts and Entertainment Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: I thank all of the organisations for their presentations. This is a very challenging time especially for all of the artists and those involved in the events industry. I presume quite a small proportion of the 54,000 artists benefited from the Covid payment of €350 per week. How many artists benefited? Was it less than 25%? Was it a smaller percentage?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Arts and Entertainment Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: Ms Dorgan referred to a broader mechanism. What kind of changes does she consider necessary in order to bring more people in under the system?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Arts and Entertainment Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: On Covid unemployment payments, my understanding is that if someone was not working during the particular week at the end of February or had not been working for four weeks in the period from 1 January to the end of February, an average over nine weeks was taken into account. That too probably would have left those people unqualified for the payment. Am I correct in that regard?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Arts and Entertainment Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: The charity sector has been very hard hit. Many people who normally contribute to fundraising are not now doing so. Ms Howard referred to reform of our tax regime to incentivise and encourage charitable giving and keep arts organisations in business. What kind of reform is she seeking in that regard?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Arts and Entertainment Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: I ask that that documentation be made available to the committee.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Arts and Entertainment Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: There are many international companies in this country, as well as many very big Irish companies. Should we be doing more to try to encourage them to sponsor artists? That practice is not as common in Ireland as it is in certain other jurisdictions. Is it all tied in to tax? Is a change to the tax code needed to bring about change in that area?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Arts and Entertainment Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: I would tell large companies that it should not all be based on tax considerations. If a company sponsors a person or group involved in the arts community, that is of significant benefit to the local community and, as such, is also of benefit to the employees of the company. That approach should also be taken when seeking corporate sponsorship.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Arts and Entertainment Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: I think Ms Howard would agree that Ireland is a bit behind certain other jurisdictions in the context of corporate sponsorship.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Testing and Tracing (25 Jun 2020)

Colm Burke: I thank Dr. Henry for his presentation and for all his work over the past three to four months. It has been quite a difficult time for everyone involved, and strong leadership has been provided in the medical advice given and its delivery. Many of the facilities for testing, etc., are being wound down and some have ceased to operate. If there was a surge again tomorrow morning, what kind...