Everyone in Ireland could get a tourism voucher this winter

The scheme's aim is to help support Ireland's tourism industry.

Ireland's Tourism Minister Catherine Martin has hinted at the possibility of everyone in Ireland receiving a €100 voucher to spend on tourism and hospitality this winter. Minister Martin is currently in budget talks with Ireland's Ministers for Finance and Expenditure, Paschal Donohoe and Michael McGrath. Ms Martin told the Irish Mirror yesterday that she is looking into ways to support Ireland's tourism and hospitality industry in the coming months. She told the publication: "There’s a lot to be considered for tourism supports, I know that is one of the issues they are looking at. "So, it’s part of the budget negotiations, so I’d prefer to keep that to the crucible of the budget negotiations, but just to say, that I’m very aware from engaging with the tourism and recovery oversight group of what their asks are." Commenting on the Government's previous Stay and Spend initiative, the Minister said that while it was a good idea, it ended up being "underused" due to the "stop-start nature" of the pandemic. She said: "It was a great idea that Minister Donohoe brought in, but it just didn’t get the traction because of the stop-start nature and because of the restrictions." The Minister added that she is "open to all actions that will support the sector", particularly during the "off-peak season". Martin's negotiations for tourism supports come just two weeks before the launch of Budget 2022, which will be released on 12 October. In other negotiations, it seems plans for an extra bank holiday are at an advanced stage. The Government is reportedly looking into adding a new bank holiday as part of the pandemic bonus. While a date is not yet set in stone, it could either be in November or between Christmas and the New Year.