Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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3. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he has met with representatives of the wedding industry to discuss the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on weddings and the supports needed for businesses involved in the sector; and if not, when he plans to do so. [12247/21]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I understand the enormous difficulties the wedding industry is facing as the pandemic rolls on. I fully appreciate that it is one of the industries worst affected and for the longest and know that as we enter a second year of restrictions many in the sector must be fearing for their future.

The financial support the Government is providing businesses and workers affected by the pandemic is unprecedented. Almost a million people of working age are now in receipt of weekly payments including the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, Employment Wage Subsidy and Jobseekers Benefit or Allowance. Support for business includes the weekly CRSS payment for businesses forced to close their doors to the public, reduced VAT rates, a commercial rates holiday, the Sustaining Enterprise Fund, the Tourism Business Continuity Scheme as well as low-cost loans.

The three main schemes, the CRSS, EWSS and PUP compare favourably with any other packages on offer in other countries. The new Business Aid Scheme I announced recently will provide funding of up to €8,000 for those businesses that are in receipt of a rates bill from their local authority. While the grant is modest, it will help smaller businesses in particular to cover these costs – rent, insurance, utilities, security.

To date, I have not met with representatives from the wedding industry sector but I have met with representatives of the hospitality sector through the Tourism and Hospitality Forum.

The Government is very much open to hearing proposals from the wedding sector as to how we can help further. Government schemes to support businesses are generally designed to help meet fixed costs that cannot be avoided, and it is not possible to provide compensation for loss of personal income or profits.

My colleagues, Minister Catherine Martin T.D., Minister for Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht and Minister Charlie McConalogue, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine may be able to provide more specific details on the events and hospitality industry and details on supports for the food sector respectively.