Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 November 2020
337. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Transport his views on excluding private coach operators from the Covid restrictions support scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33215/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraPublic 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, public services, and social engagement.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Covid-19 health emergency has had a profound impact on the public transport sector due to the fall in passenger numbers and associated drop in fare revenues.
In common with most developed economies, the public transport system in Ireland has played an essential service role over the course of the Covid-19 Emergency especially in carrying essential workers and others making necessary journeys.
The essential nature of these services have been acknowledged on number occasions by Government in recent months, most notably in the Government decisions to provided additional funding for Public Service Obligation Services, and the introduction of temporary funding measures for the licensed bus sector.
These temporary funding supports have been introduced to help ease the financial pressure on operators arising from the fall in passenger numbers and associated drop in fare revenue as a result of Covid-19.
They are aimed at ensuring the continued operation of essential licensed bus services for a period of up to six months and are targeted at covering the gap between specified costs and the revenues generated on the services.
The supports are targeted at those classes of bus services where a clear public interest justification supports such intervention and in line with relevant State aid considerations.
The NTA is responsible for administering the funding support and is in the process of entering into contracts with the relevant operators.
These supports are in addition to the suite of other financial support measures that the Government has introduced to help mitigate the impact of Covid-19, including the Pandemic Unemployment Payment which operators can avail of and which remains open to new applicants until the end of the year, and a COVID-19 Enterprise Support Grant which can be put towards the costs associated with reopening a business, including the purchase of cleaning materials and personal protective equipment.
These measures are in addition to rates waivers, lending facilities, equity injection, and business advisory supports - all of which will help to improve cash flow amongst SMEs. The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation have also set up on online tool to help support Irish start-ups and SMEs to navigate the range of Government supports and identify which support may be most relevant to their business.
Further, under measures introduced as part of the July Stimulus package, self-employed operators can also avail of tax relief this year to offset losses from this year against profits from 2019. They can also avail of liquidity and investment measures including the COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme and the COVID-19 Business Loans Scheme which provides for loans of up to €25,000 interest-free for six months, with a Government rebate available for the interest payable for the following six months
Fáilte Ireland has also been tasked with developing a Business Continuity Scheme to help coach tourism businesses through this very difficult period. I understand that Fáilte Ireland is engaging with the sector to develop and roll out this scheme as quickly as possible, which has been allocated €10m in funding as part of the July stimulus package.
