Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 May 2021
52. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on whether it will take longer for the travel agent sector to recover due to the current restrictions on international travel and ongoing uncertainty; if existing supports will be maintained to account for this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27460/21]
View answerGiven the impact this pandemic and the consequential public health restrictions has had on all aspects of our lives and in particular international travel, it is likely that businesses dependent on international travel, such as travel agents, will take longer to recover than those engaged in other sectors of the economy.
The recovery of businesses involved in this sector is dependent on a successful pan-European vaccination programme combined with the European Commission’s progress towards a new certificate system. Both measures will help reduce the health risks linked to international travel, which in turn should result in increased activity for businesses dependent on travel including travel agents.
A wide range of financial supports have been available to the sector since the outset of this pandemic such as the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme, the COVID Restrictions Support Scheme, low cost loans, deferral and warehousing of tax liabilities and the waiving of commercial rates.
In addition to these financial supports, my colleague the Minister for Transport also provided access to the Refund Credit Note scheme which allowed travel agents to issue credit notes, underwritten by the State, to consumers in lieu of cash refunds. This measure helped further enhance the ability of travel agents to survive this crisis.
The Government is very aware of the continued need for supports across the economy and has reiterated on many occasions that there will be no cliff edge to supports. The work is ongoing across Government on the nature and design of future supports with details to be announced in the near future along with the publication of the National Economic Recovery Plan.
