Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our witnesses present here today. It certainly is a very worthwhile discussion. We as a committee should engage further on this topic and address these challenges facing the workforce in the hospitality sector. As our economy is starting to recover now, it is an important opportunity we should grasp. The sector contributes more than €3 billion to the economy and it is of the utmost importance to our island.

One of the challenges we hear in our constituency office is around the shortage of skilled labour in the tourism and hospitality sector. The challenge that faces many employers is around the issuing of permits and the lack of urgency in how they actually deliver them.

My first question is to identify what are the immediate measures the witnesses feel the Government should take that would respond to the challenges faced by workers, and what incentives and initiatives would entice people back into work in the hospitality sector. Do the witnesses feel a rise in the minimum wage and the proposed living wage would be an incentive worth pursuing? As trade unions, what minimum level of pay are the unions recommending to their members and had they previously submitted to the Government?

Before this meeting, I checked the Generation Apprenticeship website, just to see what apprenticeships were available in this sector. At present there are four apprenticeships available, mainly for butchers and various chef roles. Is this something the Government needs to prioritise? Is the apprenticeship system working better now than in the past? What further improvements can be made?

My final question is to Dr. Curran. This may have been answered previously. What better governance, and Dr Curran referenced from ministerial level down, do we need, and what would that look like?