Shane Cassells (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome all the witnesses here today to discuss, as I said last night during the debate on tourism with the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, one of the most significant industries in our economy. I made the point that 23 years ago, when I was first elected to the council, one of my first roles within the local authority was as a director of Meath Tourism. The then CEO of Meath Tourism, Ms Bríd O’Connell, always pressed the point for a need for further investment in the tourism sector, in terms of what was going to resonate for economic value, beyond Dublin and Kerry and into places such as Meath and other counties. It is great to see that come to fruition over two decades of investment.

On that point, I might start with Mr. McGowan, if that is okay. I know Mr. McGowan as an exemplary proprietor of one of the finest hotel and restaurants in the north east, Scholars. I am honoured to have eaten there on several occasions. As Mr. McGowan’s role as president of the RAI, can he give us a flavour of real-life examples? We have heard the statistics from the witnesses here today so far. In terms of the members Mr. McGowan is dealing with, how is it impacting them? We have heard of the skills shortage but how is it really having an impact on restaurants? Is it a case that restaurants are obliged to close on a number of nights during the week? What is the impact on turnover? How prevalent is it? Is it geographical or is it hitting members across the country? Mr. McGowan might just give us a flavour of that quickly.