PRIEST PLEADS FOR MERCY ON LOST HOLIDAYS
A PRIEST has called on the Government to refund people who cancelled holidays because of the coronavirus.
Fr Kevin McNamara, parish priest of Moyvane in north Kerry, said that he knows of people who are distraught because of the large amounts of money they lost on flights and accommodation.
He said that many people have lost out because they were afraid to travel due to concerns about bringing the coronavirus home to their families.
‘People are stressed enough as it is and they have cast out big money for holidays. I think it would be a generous initiative by the Government to help people who have paid for holidays and it would help revitalise the economy in Ireland,’ he said.
Under Irish law, people may be able to get money back for holidays cancelled by the tour operator or airline, but not for holidays they cancelled themselves, even for coronavirus hotspots such as northern Italy. Fr McNamara said he knows of people who are ‘very distraught’ and that a payment refund scheme would help alleviate ‘the tension in people’s lives’.
He included his idea in the Moyvane parish newsletter last week and told the Irish Daily Mail that the Government could possibly share some of the cost with the airlines.
‘It could take a lot of the stress away if people could just show their bookings and get a refund, rather than having to produce a doctor’s cert and paperwork to show why they couldn’t go,’ he said.
Fr McNamara became known nationally during the lockdown for his ‘drive-through’ Communion service. The priest said the parish has been doing very well since the suspension of religious services was lifted last Monday.
He said he tried to use common sense when applying the rule that only ten people were allowed at funerals, which increased to 25 last month. ‘I would simply advise families, but if there was 11 or 12 at a funeral, you are not going to turn down a cousin who really wanted to be there,’ he said.