Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 January 2021
6. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress being made on examining an alternative to a scheme (details supplied), given that a growing number of businesses in the entertainment, tourism and hospitality support sectors in County Mayo urgently require assistance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3132/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am aware that there are a range of businesses which are not eligible for the COVID Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS).
My understanding is that the design of the scheme is such that eligibility is dependent on the level of public health restrictions in place in the business’s local area and the extent to which customer access is restricted from the business premises during that period of restriction.
As we are now unfortunately at Level 5, it is likely that many businesses in the tourism and hospitality sectors including hotels and restaurants can now avail of the CRSS. I appreciate however, that some businesses still fail to qualify for the scheme.
I would note that in the recent Budget the Government has allocated significant additional resources to Departments to provide help to different sectors. This included €395m provided to the Department of Transport and the €222m allocated to the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
On the examination of an alternative scheme to CRSS, I have directed my officials to engage with other relevant Departments to identify the type of businesses that fall outside of CRSS and what other sectoral aids are available. I hope to be in a position to provide a further update in the near future.
