Carol Nolan: Tourism needs supports, not debt-creating grants

Minister, there can be no doubt but that tourism is one of the sectors that has been most adversely impacted by this COVID-19 crisis. In fact, on 5 March, the Minister for Health himself made a statement recognising this fact on the floor of this House. At that time, he noted how the Government was mindful of the way in which any sustained period of significant flight restrictions would lead to very significant impacts on tourism and business, and that has certainly come to pass. I acknowledge the fact that Minister Ross and you, Deputy Griffin, regularly convene a meeting of the COVID-19 Tourism Monitoring Group to monitor the disruption to the sector, and that this group has been in contact with public transport operators, the National Transport Authority and other transport operators also. So, Volsha Ireland is creating a set of operational guidelines to help businesses as they reopen at the appropriate time. And as I understand it, these guidelines will only be published in the coming weeks and will provide advice on various systems that can be adopted and will help instill public confidence and reboot business while adhering to government and public health directives. But I do want to add, Minister, that in terms of the grants that are being rolled out to help businesses, what has been said to me by very small businesses is that they are going to be landed into more debt. I think what is needed is more supports. I do understand that it is a difficult time and, indeed, that decisions need to be made. But I think in the long term, if we give them more supports, rather than offering grants which will sink them deeper into debt, it would be more productive and, indeed, help the economy in rural regions also. Volsha Ireland have known since early March, at least, that the tourism sector was going to be badly hit. And here we are, with a statement issued only in the last few days, telling us that it will be weeks before they roll out advice to local tourist operators. Surely it must have been possible to have a strategy developed at greater speed than this. And I know there is huge frustration out there in regard to the delay. We have also seen the recent report from EY Ireland, which acknowledges that the rural economy will be disproportionately impacted because it is dominated by two sectors, the agri-food sector and tourism. The EY report goes on to note that the development of Irish tourism is at the heart of Project Ireland 2040 aspirations to build a more sustainable and resilient economic model, less dependent on Dublin, with a higher focus on Indigenous rather than multinational businesses. All of that now is at imminent risk of collapse, thanks to the devastation that is being experienced in rural communities. I want to welcome the fact that the following concerns raised by the Irish Road Haulage Association and the Freight Transport Association of Ireland, the Department of Tourism has also liaised with the ferry companies in seeking to ensure that insofar as possible, HGV drivers are not at this time required to share cabins with other drivers and that where this is not possible, that HGV drivers are offered reclining seats. I feel that that is a sensible and pragmatic approach and that's what's needed, but what we need is more collaboration from the stakeholders since they're the experts. And I do acknowledge the fact that you mentioned there were some stakeholders represented on the committee, but I think there needs to be more. There are some sectors feel they're not properly represented. In terms of the response of the insurance sector minister and particularly the airline sector with respect to refunds, I think that you will accept that the response there has been far from ideal. As you will be aware, under EU Regulation 261 2014, airlines must reimburse passengers whose flights are cancelled. The choice of a refund or a rerouting within seven days. I want to note that Ireland has co-signed a letter with 13 other EU members calling on the European Commission to adapt the rules on how passengers can be refunded. This is welcome and perhaps, Minister, you might be able to tell us if there has been much resistance to this from the airlines themselves and the European Commission. We have to remember that we're talking about small sums of money in respect to the airlines and most families will have saved for some time to purchase these tickets and the situation is unfair. They need to receive prompt reimbursement and not just vouchers or the offer of rescheduling flights, which I have seen from some airlines. Minister, local tourism is what sustains many villages and towns in Ireland, from B&Bs to retail and other services. And I hope that the VAT rate on the hospitality sector and hairdressers will be reduced to the 0%. I feel that this approach is needed. We need to take radical action. I feel, and I did say it in the Chamber two years ago, that the VAT rate should never have been increased because rural towns and villages didn't feel the recovery in the same way as the cities. And I just felt it was wrong to begin with. And I feel now that it's a chance to undo that somewhat and support them by bringing down that VAT rate for the hairdressers and the hospitality sector. It will take a whole of government approach to deal comprehensively with the particular challenge faced. And I can only hope that the sufficient measures will be rolled out to respond accordingly. And as I've said before, that there will be increased collaboration with the experts from the different sectors. Goed ma agat. Goed ma agat.