Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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312. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the amount drawn down by the three main sports from the special Covid-19 assistance fund as announced in July 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25487/20]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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313. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the amount paid out to sporting groups from the special fund as announced in July 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25488/20]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 312 and 313 together.

A funding package of up to €70 million was announced on 19th June to support the sport sector, which has been significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The funding package will be administered by Sport Ireland, which is the statutory body with responsibility for the development of sport. This funding package includes;

- Funding of up to €40m for the three main field sports organisations – the FAI, the GAA and the IRFU.

- a Resilience Fund of up to €10m to support the National Governing Bodies of Sport,

- a Sports Club Resilience Fund of up to €15m to support clubs, and

- a Sports Restart and Renewal Fund of up to €5m.

The funding is being administered by Sport Ireland and will be invested through new grant schemes with Sport Ireland’s recognised funding partners, i.e. National Governing Bodies of Sport, Local Sports Partnerships and other funded sporting organisations.

No funding has yet been disbursed by Sport Ireland under the new grant schemes. Sport Ireland issued application forms for assistance under the grant schemes direct to funded bodies on 27th July. The closing date for applications was 14^th September. It is anticipated that an announcement of funding allocations will be made by Sport Ireland in October.

In addition to this funding scheme, I announced a special fund of €2.5 million as part of the July Jobs Stimulus to support the reopening of publicly accessible swimming pools in recognition of the particular challenges pool operators face in reopening to the public. This funding is also being administered by Sport Ireland. Sport Ireland is currently finalising the grant scheme. Full details of the scheme and the application process will be announced shortly.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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314. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the amount allocated to promote the tourism potential of County Kildare following the recent lockdown; the organisations that received funding; the amount received by each; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25489/20]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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315. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the amount allocated to promote the tourism potential of County Laois from following the recent lockdown; the organisations that received funding; the amount received by each; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25490/20]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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316. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the amount allocated to promote the tourism potential of County Offaly following the recent lockdown; the organisations that received funding; the amount received by each; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25491/20]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 314, 315 and 316 together.

Following the introduction of specific public health measures in Kildare, Laois and Offaly the Government made additional funding available to Fáilte Ireland, to undertake a promotional campaign focused on increasing the appeal of these counties to visitors and drive bookings. The administration of this funding is an operational matter for the board and management of Fáilte Ireland. Accordingly, I have referred the Deputy's question to Fáilte Ireland for further information and direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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317. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she has had discussions with other Departments on assisting professional tour guides during the Covid-19 pandemic; if consideration has been given to an assistance package; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25492/20]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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I am acutely aware of how badly impacted professional tourist guides have been by the COVID-19 crisis due to the lack of international tourists. Tourist guides provide a vital service to the tourism industry. They are important ambassadors in the tourism experience, promoting our excellent tourism product and we will need them when our overseas visitors return.

The July Stimulus measures are a significant part of our response to the COVID-19 crisis and will help ensure Ireland’s businesses get back on their feet and as many people as possible can return to work, when it is safe to do so. These measures were in addition to other Governments supports already in place. They provide supports for businesses to retain existing jobs and to create new jobs, and they will help build confidence in consumers and communities all over Ireland.

The Tourism Recovery Taskforce is expected to publish its Final Recovery Plan in the coming weeks and I will consider its recommendations in the context of the Budget and the development of the National Economic Plan, at which point the Government will review and refine existing supports, and consider any further necessary measures required as a consequence of COVID-19.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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318. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the amount of aid allocated to tourist information centres within the past six months by county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25501/20]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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The issue raised by the Deputy is a matter for the board and management of Fáilte Ireland. Accordingly, I have referred the Deputy's question to Fáilte Ireland for further information and direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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319. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if clarity will be provided for caravan and camping ground owners and their patrons regarding the Covid-19 regulations on numbers gathering outside as it pertains to their premises. [25634/20]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Government last week published Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with COVID-19, to guide Ireland’s response to saving lives and managing the pandemic over the next 6-9 months. The Plan has been designed to provide greater clarity to society and businesses on how to operate as normally as possible in the circumstances, while continuing to suppress the virus.

This plan sets out a Framework for Restrictive Measures in Response to COVID-19 – five levels of response, to be applied as appropriate depending on the incidence of the disease at a particular point in time, each with a combination of measures designed to help lower COVID-19 transmission. For each level of the Framework, there is an outline of what is permitted in various situations such as social and family gatherings; organised events; exercise and sporting activities; indoor attractions; bars, cafés and restaurants; outdoor playgrounds, play areas and parks; paid accommodation; and retail – all underpinned by expert advice and recommendations.

For its part, Fáilte Ireland has developed a series of sectoral guidelines to assist tourism businesses, including Caravan and Camping Parks, reopen and operate safely in line in line with the Return to Work Safelyprotocol and based on the latest health advice. These guidelines are all available through the Covid-19 Business Supports Hub on the Fáilte Ireland website (www.failteireland.ie). I understand that Fáilte Ireland is now in the process of updating its guidelines in line with Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with COVID-19, the latest Government restrictions and the health advice currently applying.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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320. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will seek to extend the local authority commercial rates waiver scheme in order to support the hotel and hospitality industry which is at imminent risk of a further 100,000 job losses and hotel closures unless restrictions limiting events to six persons are lifted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24823/20]

Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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323. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government When the promised waiver of commercial rates for a six-month period for wet pubs will be enacted; and if the period will be extended for Dublin pubs that remain closed. [25391/20]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 320 and 323 together.

Since the onset of COVID-19, my Department has worked to ensure that there are appropriate responses is in place to assist businesses that have been impacted by the economic disruptions arising as a result of the pandemic. These responses include information and advisory supports, as well as liquidity supports in the form of grants and loan guarantee schemes.

My Department has worked with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to develop three Government-guaranteed loan schemes operated by the SBCI and delivered through participating finance providers.

Each of these schemes provides support to COVID-19-impacted businesses depending on their needs:

- COVID-19 Working Capital Scheme: This scheme makes available working capital loans ranging from €25,000 to €1.5m to eligible businesses exposed to COVID-19-related impacts. Loans of under €500,000 are available unsecured. Loans under this scheme are available for terms of up three years to help businesses to innovate, change or adapt in response to the pandemic. These innovations may include adjustments to ensure that a business can continue to operate safely.

- COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme: This scheme makes up to €2 billion in lending available to eligible businesses. Loans under the Scheme range from €10,000 to €1m. Loans of up to €250,000 under the Scheme are available unsecured (except where this is a requirement of the product feature, as in the case of asset finance, invoice discount facilities, etc). Its focus is to provide additional liquidity to businesses in a wide range of sectors including primary producers and small mid caps (employing up to 500). Loans under this scheme are for terms of up to five-and-a-half years. Resulting from the 80 percent Government guarantee, businesses will be able to avail of loans at reduced interest rates.

- Future Growth Loan Scheme: This scheme has recently been expanded and now makes up to €800m in lending available to eligible businesses to support long-term, strategic investment, including in response to COVID-19. Loans under the scheme range from €25,000 to €3m and loans of under €500,000 are available unsecured.

Loans under this scheme are for terms of 7-10 years.

Micro-enterprises that have been negatively affected by the onset of COVID-19 may also be eligible for lending from MicroFinance Ireland under its own COVID-19 loan scheme:

- MicroFinance IrelandCOVID-19 Business Loan: Loans under this scheme range from €5,000 to €25,000 and are available with zero repayments and zero interest for the first six months, with the equivalent of an additional six months interest-free subject to certain terms and conditions.

Loan terms are typically up to three years.

Loan schemes aside, businesses in the hospitality sector may also be eligible for the enhanced Restart Grant. This enhanced grant support is open to businesses that have had 25% reduction in turnover due to COVID-19 restrictions or downturn in trade, provided they commit to reopening and to hiring and sustaining employment.

The grant is based on the amount of the rates assessment for the premises for 2019 (excluding arrears) with a new minimum grant of €4,000 and a maximum grant of €25,000 (Increased from €2,000 min and €10,000 max).

Eligible firms include medium sized firms with up to 250 employees, as well as small firms (increased from 50 employees) with a turnover of up to €25m, and turnover of less than €100k per employee, increased from turnover limit of €5m. Therefore, a business with 50 employees and €5m turnover, 100 employees and less than €10m turnover, and so on with a business with 250 employees having a max. of less than €25m turnover are eligible.

The hospitality sector, restaurants, pubs, activity centres and tourist attractions, e.g., galleries, museums are eligible if they are operating from a rated premises. B&Bs in non-rated premises will be eligible to apply for the minimum €4,000 grant from Fáilte Ireland.

On 18th September last I announced the Government's decision to provide a 30% top-up to the Restart Plus Grant for eligible businesses in Dublin City and County. This top-up follows on the top-ups we announced for Kildare of 40% and Laois and Offaly of 20% respectively following the increase in restrictions on those counties in August. We have also provided a top-up for wet pubs of 40%.

More information on these schemes is available on my Department’s website, at dbei.gov.ie/coronavirus

Fáilte Ireland, as the National Tourism Development Authority has also responded to the COVID-19 crisis by immediately setting up a Business Supports Taskforce to establish the supports required by the industry to ensure the survival and successful relaunch of the sector.

More information on Fáilte Ireland’s supports to COVID-19 impacted businesses are hosted on a dedicated online COVID-19 Business Supports Hub on failteireland.ie

Some elements of this question fall under the remit of other Government Departments, and where appropriate those elements will be responded to by the Ministers of Finance and Housing, Planning and Local Government.