Written answers

Thursday, 12 November 2020

Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Transport Policy

Photo of Cormac DevlinCormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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120. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to ensure the survival of important sectors of the economy such as the aviation, travel and taxi industries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25946/20]

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to set out some of the supports which the Government has put in place to assist the transport sector during the current pandemic.  

Aviation 

My Department is monitoring the financial impact of COVID-19 on the Irish aviation sector on an ongoing basis, in consultation with all key stakeholders and relevant Government Departments. 

The Government has put in place a range of supports for businesses, including those in aviation. The supports include the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme, which will now run into 2021, waiver of commercial rates, tax clawback, and liquidity support available through the ISIF Pandemic Stabilisation and Recovery Fund.  

It remains open to airlines to engage directly with the relevant agencies concerned with a view to drawing down such supports. The amount of any funding sought by each airline would be a commercial matter for the airlines concerned. 

Budget 2021 provides for €8.5 billion in funding for public services to address the challenges of COVID-19, and a Recovery Fund is also to be established to stimulate demand and employment, and is to be funded to over €3 billion. 

The report of the Aviation Recovery Taskforce contains a number of recommendations relating to the provision of further support to the sector including through stimulus funding to aid recovery, and these recommendations are being considered, as appropriate, in the context of the ongoing work to manage the impact of COVID-19 on aviation and the wider economy.

This week, the Government agreed a revised €80 million funding package for Irish aviation. In recognition of the very difficult winter season being faced by the aviation sector it has decided to provide an extra €48 million in supports for 2021, in addition to those announced in Budget 2021.

For the smaller regional airports of Knock, Kerry and Donegal, in addition to the €21m in funding available under the Regional Airports Programme for 2021, further operational support of €6m will be made available.

The funding package will also include an Airport Charges Rebate Scheme for January to March 2021, subject to State Aid approval from the EU Commission. This is one of the recommendations made by the Task Force for Aviation Recovery and, at an estimated cost of €20m, will support the retention of core connectivity through the Winter season.

To better facilitate international travel, Government has decided to implement the EU “traffic light” classification system which categorises EU Member States/regions inside Member States as red, orange or green, based on the number of cases of COVID-19 present in that respective location. In addition to this, COVID-19 testing will also be considered to further ensure the health and safety of international travellers. Government also agreed that, in accordance with the EU Recommendation, travellers with an essential function or need should not be required to undergo restricted movement or testing while exercising this essential function.

In relation to airports, more specifically, supports are continuing through the Government’s Regional Airports Programme.  This year, the airports of Donegal, Kerry and Ireland West (Knock) are eligible to receive capital and operational funding of €6 million.  Stobart Air, along with Donegal and Kerry airports, are also benefitting from the PSO air services that operate between these two airports and Dublin.  Furthermore, in June of this year, the Government approved funding of €6.1m towards a hold baggage screening project at Shannon Airport.

Budget 2021 is providing €31.3m to regional airports next year, consisting of €21.3m for the Regional Airports Programme (Donegal, Kerry and Ireland West) and €10m in capital funding for Cork and Shannon airports.  These supports will help airports to remain viable as they continue to manage operations alongside COVID.

Travel 

The range of Government supports are also available to the travel trade especially those introduced to help the SME sector. Where customers of such a business are prohibited or significantly restricted from accessing the business premises in which the business is ordinarily carried on, as may be the case with travel agents under Level 5 of the Plan for Living with COVID-19, the business may qualify for the COVID Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) as administered by the Revenue Commissioners.

Public Transport and Taxis

Up to 23rdOctober 2020, the PSO Exchequer allocation to the National Transport Authority (NTA) was €537m, including €12.6m to be allocated to commercial operators under the terms of their temporary contracts with the NTA.

In Budget 2020, and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, €288.667 million was provided for PSO, including approximately €8 million for Local Link rural regular services, which is in addition to €14.896 million provided for Local Link under the Rural Transport Programme (RTP). This was a slight increase on the 2019 allocation.

It was expected that this subsidy, together with the c.€100 million State payment for Free Travel, would meet the difference between the c.€600 million fare revenues collected annually from passengers, and the costs of actually providing the bus and rail services.  Following extensive engagement with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the 2020 PSO allocation was utilised to fund the revenue shortfall arising with PSO and Rural Transport operators as a result of COVID-19.  On 4th June 2020 Government agreed an increase in PSO subvention to enable the normal range of Exchequer-supported public transport services to continue to run for this year.  Continuing to fund the existing PSO system will require up to a further c. €460 million to year end (in addition to the c. €300m already provided).

The Government approved temporary funding supports of up to €95m on 26thJune 2020, in accordance with EU and national legislation, for the licensed bus sector. These supports are aimed at ensuring the continued operation of essential licensed bus services for a period of up to six months.  The package is restricted to operators where a clear public interest justification supports such intervention and is being targeted at compensating the gap between specified costs and the revenues generated on the services.  The NTA, as the public transport licensing agency, is responsible for administering this funding support through contracts established between the NTA and the relevant operators.

Passenger demand for taxis and SPSV has fallen considerably as a consequence of the restrictions brought about by the necessary public health response. As COVID-19 is a national, prolonged crisis which continues to deeply impact communities, businesses, families and individuals across the country, a national response is required.

The recently published Budget 2021 contained further measures to aid SPSV operators. The Department will provide funding to the NTA to enable it to waive standard SPSV licence renewal fees in 2021. A €15 million scrappage scheme has also been introduced to encourage operators of older vehicles switch to electric vehicles.

The trading environment for self-employed individuals remains difficult. Accordingly the Pandemic Unemployment Payment will continue until 1 April 2021. Self-employed recipients, including SPSV drivers, can earn up to €480 per month which still receiving the payment. Furthermore, individuals exiting that payment may avail of the COVID-19 Enterprise Support Grant is a once-off grant of up to €1,000 which can be used towards the costs associated with reopening a business, including the purchase of cleaning materials and personal protective equipment. Further details on this and other measures are available from Department of Social Protection. 

These measures build on the supports provided since the start of the pandemic. The NTA took action at the outset of COVID-19 to support the SPSV sector, such as licence extensions, the waiver of late renewal feels, and facilitating the suspension of SPSV insurance for those operators who decided to temporarily stop working and suspend their licence. The NTA has also extended age limits for vehicles that were due to reach them since March until the end of 2020, and are currently considering extending them further until the end of 2021.

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