Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State will be well aware of the level of devastation Covid has wreaked on the hospitality and tourism sector. Every little business in this sector has effectively been put on its knees. While there is recognition that the Government has supported the sector in so far as could so far, it is now recognised that more needs to be done.

In recent weeks, I have had conversations with Mr. Adrian Cummins of Restaurants Association of Ireland and Mr. Dermot Kelly of the Irish Hotels Federation. They made it very clear that their organisations had been holding on with their fingernails until business was to start again. The expectation was that we would be getting back to normal after Christmas but, with the restrictions continuing, the sector is now in a perilous state. The representative organisations have asked that the Government consider a number of proposals. First, the Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS, percentage needs to be doubled from 10% of 2019 turnover to 20%. We have to remove the limit of €5,000 per week because it is eliminating all the bigger businesses, namely those with 58 bedrooms and more. The reality is that these businesses have very significant fixed costs, including rent. They still have to pay their rent because the landlords are not getting payment moratoriums from the banks. Insurance still has to be paid. Payments associated with service agreements for lifts and other infrastructural elements must still be made and utility bills must be paid.

The sector recognises that the employment wage subsidy scheme has been very helpful but many businesses have had to supplement the payments under the scheme considerably to retain staff even though there is no money coming in. The representative bodies would like to see it extended until the end of 2021, regardless of the restrictions.

There is genuine annoyance over the way the banks are treating customers.The reality is that while the banks are indicating there is the potential for moratoriums, they are not giving them. Approximately 87% of those who have been surveyed indicated a willingness or a need for moratoriums yet only in the region of 45% are getting them. That is not good enough. In Denmark, France, Belgium and Germany, when restrictions are at level 5, as is the case here, the authorities have forced the banks to provide for moratoriums.

There is a recognition that VAT at 9% is good for the sector. This reduction needs to be extended until 2025 because it is the only way that these businesses will be able to continue to trade in light of the extended restrictions.

There is also a recognition that there is a considerable amount of money that the State collects through the utility companies. So what the organisations are looking for is a 70% rebate of the pass-through charges that the Government levies on the utility companies. It would not hurt the Government to do this but it would make a significant differences to these businesses. Of course, there needs to be an extension of the rates waiver.

Most of all, what we also need to do is look to schemes that will help some of the smaller businesses that have received no supports to date. I think of a pony trekking business in Domoland that is run by Sean Kilkenny and his family in this regard. Mr. Kilkenny has had no support whatsoever from the State but he has managed to feed his 40 horses and pay farrier costs and tried to pay insurance costs and the cover required to keep his vehicles going. He is now under enormous pressure and financial constraint. The State is going to have to be more imaginative in finding appropriate solutions for smaller businesses that fall outside the myriad schemes already in place. I appeal to the Minister of State, with his considerable experience in services to his local community, to look consider this matter.

I understand that Fáilte Ireland has €7 million left over from last year from the adaption grant and intends to spend it in eight major locations around the country. I understand that there is nothing coming to Ennis in my county. This is a town that has suffered hugely. It will continue to suffer in terms of its hospitality and tourism sector because if we have a summer holiday period this year, much of the activity will happen on the coast. We need to look after our county towns.