Written answers

Thursday, 19 November 2020

Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

Covid-19 Pandemic Supports

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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144. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which all aspects of tourism have been evaluated to determine the impact of Covid-19; if specific arrangements are being made to deal with same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37657/20]

Photo of Catherine MartinCatherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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A Tourism Recovery Taskforce (TRT) was appointed in May to prepare a Tourism Recovery Plan which includes a set of recommendations on how best the Irish tourism sector can adapt and recover in the changed tourism environment as a result of the crisis. The Taskforce comprised an independent chairperson and 13 other members from a broad spectrum of backgrounds including tourism policy, tourism enterprise, international, private and public service. During the course of its work, the TRT carried out a widespread stakeholder consultation process whereby all sectors and interested parties could provide constructive inputs and innovative ideas on how this sector vital to our economy can adapt and recover in a meaningful and sustainable way.

Following extensive engagement with stakeholders, the Taskforce undertook a comprehensive analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on the sector and drew up a Recovery Plan containing over 30 recommendations across a number of areas designed to help the sector to survive and recover from the crisis out to 2023. Its short-term recommendations informed the sector-specific measures adopted in the Budget. These measures will help tourism enterprises to survive and subsequently contribute to the recovery. Key measures adopted in Budget 2021, further to the horizontal measures such as the EWSS and CRSS and measures previously introduced like the ‘stay and spend’ tax credit and adaptation grants, are:

- A Business Continuity Scheme of €55 million for strategic tourism businesses;

- A reduced VAT rate of 9%, and

- Funding of €5 million for focused upskilling training to support business survival and recovery in the sector, and for the improvement of the digital presence and ecommerce capability of tourism businesses. 

The plan was published at the start of October and to help inform the ongoing response to the pandemic, I will shortly appoint an Oversight Group which will monitor the implementation of the Recovery Plan as well as the recovery of the tourism sector in general.

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