James Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Fenn and Mr. Dolan for their presentations. I hope they understand that we are raising these issues in the interests of protecting the hotel, hospitality and tourism industries. I think they will acknowledge that a great deal of business, notwithstanding the hard-nosed end of it, is based on sentiment. This is particularly true in the tourism industry. People might not remember everything that happened when they were in Ireland, but they will remember how they were made feel. We make people feel welcome, but we charge them exorbitant rates because they happen to come here on a weekend when there is an event on. I was acutely aware of this when I served as Minister for Health and we held many big health conferences. We were attracting large numbers of people to this country who would not have been here otherwise. Part of the idea behind that, in addition to the sharing of information, etc., was to let them see our country in the hope that they would say, "Wow, we must come back here again". That will not happen if the sentiment they feel is that they have been fleeced. I will not labour the point.

I take Mr. Fenn's point that the Competition and Consumer Protection Authority would by no means allow the Irish Hotels Federation to set or influence rates. There is a need to send a strong message that many people are deeply unhappy, that this sector is in danger of losing the goodwill and positive sentiment that makes it successful and that a change in attitude is needed. We accept that more beds will be needed in Dublin as the tourism industry grows. We absolutely accept that there is more to tourism and to the Irish Hotels Federation than Dublin. The problem is that Dublin is sticking out like a sore thumb and needs to be addressed. I hope this will happen because I think there is a bright future for tourism. There are many possibilities if we get our model right.