Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the delegates. Their proposal that the VAT rate of 9% be retained is really a no-brainer. Employment in the sector is up 10,000, which is not an achievement many sectors can claim in the past two years. Likewise, tourism numbers are up. There is definite and recorded feedback that the proposition we are offering as a tourism destination is better value than it was in 2010. We should bear in mind that this proposal does not require additional moneys to be found. The levy on private pensions introduced in the special budget in 2011 is specifically to pay for the VAT reduction. Given the success of the initiative in creating and sustaining employment, there should not be any doubt about its retention. In that context, the committee should send a strong message of support for the retention of the 9% rate to the Minister for Finance.

Mr. Cummins makes a very strong point on the shortfall in training provision for the hospitality sector. CERT had a strong role in this regard in the 1980s, but since it was subsumed into Fáilte Ireland the training element seems to have gone skew-ways. There must be a revival of the strong role previously played by CERT, which might well be by way of the Restaurants Association of Ireland getting into the training business. Whatever the format, support must be given. We cannot set out our stall and declare tourism as a job creation focus, which it certainly can be, without putting the appropriate training programmes in place to ensure the necessary quality. The figures show that the 9% rate has worked and we should support its retention. The delegates should note, however, that the proximity of this institution to the restaurants of Dublin 2 has had no bearing on their resurgence in recent years.