Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy is aware, the tourism sector has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic so I was therefore pleased to secure a record level of funding for tourism in Budget 2022: €288.5 million in total, an increase of €67.5 million over the 2021 allocation. The allocation includes €50 million for business continuity supports and a €35 million increase to the Tourism Marketing Fund to support the delivery of a marketing strategy to help restore inbound tourism to Ireland. Due to the devastating impact of COVID-19, the impact of Brexit on our tourism sector may not become apparent for some time.

As part of its marketing strategy, Tourism Ireland has established a recovery framework entitled: RESTART, REBUILD and REDESIGN, which will be underpinned by an extensive programme of promotional activity throughout 2022. I was happy to help Tourism Ireland launch its new ‘Green Button’ marketing campaign in the UK recently where I engaged with our industry partners to reassure them that Ireland was open and waiting to welcome back visitors. Tourism Ireland strongly promotes Cork Airport and the Port of Cork, through initiatives like the Regional Cooperative Marketing Fund which seeks to encourage new access and maximise the potential of existing services to the region. Fáilte Ireland continues to work to further develop tourism in Cork in both the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland’s Ancient East regional brand areas, and is involved in a wide variety of activity in both of these regional brand areas. 

Fáilte Ireland recently announced indicative details of how the €50m funding provided in Budget 2022 for the Tourism Business Continuity Programme will be allocated to assist strategic tourism businesses to recover in 2022. Fáilte Ireland has designed the programme to support those still experiencing the most difficulty as a result of the pandemic. The phasing of the programme has been set out to make sure that support is provided quickest to the businesses that need it most urgently and taking into account other Government funding that has already been received. The Strategic Tourism Transport Business Continuity Scheme opened for applications on 11th January 2022 and the Strategic Ireland Based Inbound Agents Tourism Business Continuity Scheme opened for applications on 12th January. The Attractions and Activity Tourism Operators Business Continuity Scheme will launch on 8th March and the Tourism Accommodation Providers Business Continuity Scheme will launch on 9th March.

The Government recently agreed a number of changes to the major economy-wide support schemes available to businesses affected by the latest public health restrictions. Changes were made to the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS), the COVID-19 Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) and the tax debt warehousing scheme to expand the supports available to businesses affected.

The Tourism Recovery Oversight Group continue to report to me on a regular basis, with updates on the implementation of the recommendations set out in the Tourism Recovery Plan 2020 – 2023 and on the recovery of the sector. These reports continue to inform my thinking, and that of my colleagues in Government, with regard to ongoing measures to support the sector.