Our Tourism, Culture, Sports and Gaeltacht sectors are a fundamental expression of who we are as a nation, and they have been in crisis in recent months as a direct result of the COVID pandemic. These sectors rely particularly on personal contact and social interaction, they have been enormously impacted, and their paths to recovery will be challenging. It is notable that a considerable proportion of employers in both the Tourism and Arts/Entertainment sectors have been availing of the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS), compared with an average of 33% across the economy, reflecting the particular vulnerability these sectors. With the global collapse of international tourism, in particular, the OECD has estimated a decline of 60-80% this year, devastating this country’s largest indigenous sector, which in 2019 employed over 260,000 people, and which generated over €7 billion in direct spend for our economy, of which approximately 75% was export earnings from overseas tourists. The new Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme will help sustain the future viability of jobs in these sectors, which will be so important to Ireland’s national recovery.