Hildegarde Naughton, Ireland’s minister responsible for international travel, has announced the support fund for agents to help them remain in business until “viable trading” can resume, as the world struggles to deal with the impact of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

The association said it had been “working tirelessly” with government departments and politicians since summer 2020 to secure financial support to protect the travel industry and consumers.

ITAA president Paul Hackett said: "The past 22 months have been the most difficult of all times for the travel industry. Travel agents have facilitated clients with refunds and rebooking throughout this time despite trading at near zero levels.

“We very much welcome this support fund for travel agents licensed in Ireland. It will go towards protecting the Irish-based travel industry, facilitating a smooth and safe return to business in 2022.

“Our industry is resilient. We have overcome other catastrophes in the past and for the most part our members have survived the most challenging trading environment ever seen. I have no doubt that over the next 18 to 24 months we will recover to pre-pandemic trading levels.”