Mr. Adrian Cummins:

I will reiterate that the margins in our sector are quite low at between 2% and 5%. On the job creation question, first we need long-term certainty on the 9% VAT rate. Every year the rate is up in the air and we cannot allow that situation to continue. We need five-year certainty on it. Tourism agencies predict growth in visitor numbers into the country and Fáilte Ireland predicts an increase in job numbers, with approximately 50,000 extra jobs being the growth potential of the tourism and hospitality sectors. That brings with it its own problems for our sector, including a skills shortage. I have addressed this committee in the past on skills shortage. It is for another day, but there is a serious problem around training and skills shortage.

We have 29 inspecting bodies or regulatory licences or some person wearing a white coat and carrying a clipboard looking for a licence, asking if something has been paid for or if something else has been checked, etc.