Staycation subsidy: Here’s the craic with the stay-at-home travel voucher

Yet another reason to stay local for the foreseeable.

If you've been gasping to get away, chances are you've already got yourself a couple of staycations planned. Road trips, hotel breaks, and glamping extravaganzas - they're all in the pipeline for the foreseeable future for those among us who are exciting to get our staycation on this year. There are plenty of reasons why you'd want to buzz around Ireland - but now we've got another one: a staycation grant set to be introduced later this year giving travellers the chance to claim tax back on their at-home trips. Not a bad shout, in fairness. Here's everything you need to know. So, what exactly is the staycation subsidy?  The staycation subsidy is a grant offered to encourage at-home tourism in Ireland in a bid to cover some of the losses already being felt by the severe reduction in overseas travel. A person who spends over €625 on accommodation, food, and non-alcoholic drinks will be able to claim back €125 via a tax credit. For a couple, the figure doubles to €250. The grant will be introduced in conjunction with a €10m tourism restart fund, as well as €10m performance support scheme for the entertainment and culture sector. When is the voucher going to be introduced?  According to reports, the grant won't be introduced until October, meaning that unfortunately, all of those staycations that you've got planned for the summer won't be covered by the rebate. Economics professor Tony Foley told RTÉ's Today that although the grant won't make up for the losses felt by the increased drop in overseas tourism, it should keep things "ticking over." The rebate will be valid on staycation spending made between October 2020 and April 2021. Who can avail of the voucher?  All Irish tax payers who spend more than €625 on accommodation, food, and non-alcoholic drinks in Ireland between October and April will be able to avail of the rebate. The government is hopeful that the incentive will encourage people to continue to travel around Ireland as opposed to abroad for the foreseeable future. At the moment, the Department of Foreign Affairs is still advising against any overseas travel unless absolutely necessary. There is no word yet as to whether this will change as 2020 comes to a close. Regardless, the government is intent on keeping Irish tourism ticking over for as long as possible.