James Lawless
Question:173. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Transport the financial assistance grants that are available to a company (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39080/21]
View answerTuesday, 27 July 2021
Questions (173)
Written answers
While most public transport in Ireland comprises the bus and rail services funded through the National Transport Authority's (NTA) public service obligation (PSO) programme, there is part of the national public transport system that comprises non-subvented bus services, which are run on a commercial and competitive basis by bus and coach businesses of varying sizes throughout the country.
Both the NTA and my Department have been engaging directly with commercial bus operators throughout the crisis to help inform policy decisions in relation to the public transport sector as we continue to deal with the impact of Covid-19.
Public transport is a key facilitator of interaction in the economy and society. It is an efficient and sustainable way of getting people to work, education, shopping and other social engagements. The essential nature of these services has been acknowledged a number of times by the Government in recent months, most notably in the decision to provide additional funding for public service obligation (PSO) services and the introduction of temporary funding measures for the licensed bus sector.
In June 2020 the Government decided to introduce new, temporary financial support for certain licensed services provided by commercial bus operators to ensure the continued operation of these essential services. The temporary support was initially introduced for a period of 6-months. However, as it remains the case that commercial bus operators are still under severe financial distress due to the fall in passenger numbers and associated drop in fare revenue as a result of Covid-19, on 26 January 2021, Government decided to extend the temporary funding supports for the licensed bus sector for a further period of 3 months, with an option to extend contracts on a monthly basis thereafter.
In relation to coach tourism - a fund of €10m was made available under the 2020 July Stimulus package to assist the Coach Tourism sector. The Coach Tourism Business Continuity Scheme is administered by Fáilte Ireland and is under the remit of my colleague the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin.
Furthermore, the Government's Economic Recovery Plan has extended the period during which a range of horizontal and business supports will be available to enterprises and workers in all sectors of the economy. Such as, extending the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme to 31 December 2021, extending the Pandemic Unemployment Payment beyond 30 June 2021 and extending the Commercial Rates Waiver to end-September 2021.
Business owners may also wish to contact their Local Enterprise Office who can advise of supports that may be available for their business.