Chief Executive Officer of the Irish Travel Agents Association Pat Dawson has said travel agents and tour operators are owed between €25m-€30m from airlines.
He told the Oireachtas Transport Committee that the sector has been "burning cash" over the past six months and spend most of their time trying to get refunds for customers from airlines.
Mr Dawson said it is taking four to five months to get refunds from airlines. He urged the committee to call in the airlines and get the money back to the consumer.
Mr Dawson claims Ryanair is saying it will not refund travel agents and he said the airline needs to be "hauled over the coals" to ensure the company refunds people.