James Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for not being here for the presentation by the Restaurants Association of Ireland. I want to debunk one issue that has been thrown in here which is that the reduced VAT is some sort of subsidy. It is not a subsidy. It was a very clear financial policy decision to encourage business in the hospitality sector and create jobs, which is exactly what it has done. It is not a subsidy.

Having said that, there has to be a realisation that there is a problem. We are not certain about the quantification of that problem. We have the UL study and Ms Callan mentioned a figure of 48,000 people. If my son, sister, mother or father were one of those 48,000 people, I would be very exercised over them being affected in this way and that they are exposed to some employers who may be less than scrupulous in this regard.

I want to be constructive. I heard very clearly two weeks ago from IBEC and others that this is bad legislation and I can see many problems with it. However, it is not helpful to say that there is not a substantial problem here, even if it is not as widespread as some people make it out to be. We only have anecdotal evidence. However, we all acknowledge that we have a problem. What do the three groups represented here today suggest to deal with the problem? I hear clearly what they are saying about this legislation being a bit of a sledgehammer to crack a nut, not being flexible and ignoring many of the realities on the ground for many people who want to work different types of hours.

I am an employer. I employ locum doctors in my surgery. Some of them work part time and some work full time, but they have predictability if they want it. I understand the difficulties with some of the features of this Bill, especially in the hotel industry where some hotels shut down for the winter because the business is not there. Obviously six months is too short and it would need to be a year. However, that is not the core of this.

I ask the witnesses to help us to move this on because there is a problem. As this might fall, it is not good enough to have nothing put in its place that might help the situation.