Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their very informative presentations. Some of the points I had intended to raise have been covered so I will deal with the ones that have not yet been raised.

The Gathering has been very positive. It has been rolled out in many communities around the country. In fact, almost every community has taken part in it. However, Ireland has a very low rate of tourists and visitors returning to this country. Will The Gathering impact on this in a positive way and what steps are being taken to ensure people who come here for The Gathering will return at a future date? There is a big commemoration next year of the Battle of Clontarf as it will be 1,000 years since it took place. What is being done to market this and to target the Scandinavian countries in particular?

What is the average duration of visits to Ireland? Does it compare positively or negatively with the rate in other European countries? Has there been any effort to use the Irish language as a tool to draw people to Ireland in terms of language tourism and visits to the Gaeltacht? I believe this is a substantial tool but we have not fully harnessed the potential of language tourism.

The presentation from Tourism Ireland outlined some very positive aspects of the Irish tourism industry over the past 12 months, but the British market remains sluggish. Following the visit of Queen Elizabeth last year we were led to believe that the number of tourists from Britain would increase hugely this year. Will the witness comment on that? Derry is the City of Culture this year and obviously that is a significant event for the north west and Derry city in particular. Has Tourism Ireland discerned much of a benefit in the region in respect of the number of tourists attracted in the past 12 months?

Clearly, there is an overlap between Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland. How do they avoid duplication in carrying out their duties?

Finally, I wish to comment on the JLC system. Without the JLC system unscrupulous employers could reduce pay to the bare minimum legal limits in the current climate. The wage rates for JLC workers are quite low, for example, the top rate of pay for a worker covered by the retail JLC prior to it being struck down was €9.66 per hour. A worker at the top JLC retail rate working a 35 hour week would earn just €17,500 per year. Despite the legally binding nature of the JLC or registered employment agreements, REA, there are employers who did not comply with them. According to the National Employment Rights Authority 2009 report more than 70% of employers in three of the largest sectors under these agreements were in breach of their statutory obligations.

Nonetheless, employers' organisations are intent on driving down the wages in this sector to even lower levels. They are seeking the abolition of the REAs and JLCs. They argue that the wage rates are too high, are negatively impacting on our competitiveness and holding back job growth. They also argue that many businesses are struggling to meet wage bills and should have an inability to pay clause. Many employers do not pay JLC or REA rates, which are not particularly high in any case. Employers have argued that the minimum wage and the JLC and REA rates are high by European standards, but this is simply not true. By comparison with England and when adjusted for purchasing power, the English rate is higher at €7.28 compared with the Irish rate of €6.28. The business lobby groups have failed to produce evidence to support their claim that the JLC system affects job creation.