Brussels approves €55m scheme for Irish tourism

The European Commission has approved a €55 million scheme to support Irish companies in the tourism sector due to the "serious disturbance" in the economy caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under the scheme, measures can be adopted to support companies active in tourism or in directly related sectors that suffer from a reduction in turnover or profit due to the coronavirus outbreak and the related measures necessary to limit the spread of the virus.

The objective of the measure is to help beneficiaries address the sudden liquidity shortage they are facing, thus helping them to continue their activities during and after the outbreak.

The support will not exceed €1.8 million per company, and the aid will be granted no later than December 31st, 2021.

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The commission concluded that the measure was “necessary, appropriate and proportionate to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a member state”. On this basis, the commission approved the measure under EU state aid rules.