Sinn Féin’s proposal would give €200 to every adult and €100 for every child to ensure that everyone can have a holiday this year
Sinn Féin’s Spokesperson for Tourism Spokesperson, Sport and Media local TD Imelda Munster, has written to the Ministers for Finance and Tourism, asking them to consider the introduction of a voucher scheme to stimulate tourism and hospitality later in the year once it has been deemed safe to reopen the sector.
Deputy Munster asked both Ministers to reconsider the proposal put forward by Sinn Féin in 2020 to introduce a Staycation Voucher to the value of €200 per adult and €100 per child to encourage families to spend money in the local economy in 2021, once a date has been set for the safe reopening of the tourism and hospitality sectors.
Deputy Munster said:
“Tourism and hospitality have suffered enormous losses in the past year. They continue to struggle having been shut down again in late December, with no end to severe restrictions in sight. This has taken an enormous toll on business owners and workers across the state.
“The government’s Stay and Spend tax rebate was a complete flop. It was a poor policy decision from the start, because it excluded large swathes of the population who are low-earners including many carers, pensioners and people who lost their jobs due to the pandemic.
“Further to this, take up has been extremely low, as we have been in lockdown for most of the time that it has been available, as it was only introduced in late October. I asked the Minister for Finance in a PQ at the end of February how many claims had been made to date under the scheme, and the answer was only 7,799.
“The industry supports a voucher type scheme as a way to stimulate the sector once it can reopen.
“In terms of the reopening, I am supportive of industry calls for information from government around the conditions under which reopening will be possible. This includes the percentage of the population that will need to be vaccinated, and the desired levels of community transmission that will need to be achieved in order to allow the sector to plan to reopen, given that a clear timeline is not available at the present time.
“Sinn Féin’s proposal would give €200 to every adult and €100 for every child to ensure that everyone can have a holiday this year. It would go a long way toward boosting local economies, and stimulating tourism in towns and cities across the state.
“It would also give families and people a financial break and the chance to have a well-earned holiday after what has been a very difficult and distressing year for everyone.
“Everyone is included, so this scheme will help those unable to afford a break to have a holiday this year, and it will encourage those who can to spend their vouchers, and more, in our local economies.
“Our plan is simple, effective and fully costed.
“I hope that the government will take our proposal into account and will give consideration to a scheme of this type once the industry can reopen. People need a break, and tourism and hospitality need our support to get back on their feet.”
