Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I accept it is last-minute. Because I knew the focus was going to be on this, I looked at 15 September, which is a Thursday, and it is not a supply issue because there are over 120 properties available in Dublin across a range of the booking sites, and I went onto some of the hotels' own websites as well. There were some very good value bed and breakfasts and some hotels but most of the hotels were charging over €190. On my average, excluding bed and breakfasts and hostels, it was an average of over €220, and that is for three months out.

Like Deputy O'Sullivan, I do not accept it is entirely a supply issue, although there is a supply problem and I will come to that. I get that the IHF cannot be involved in telling the market what to do or anything like price-fixing, but it can send a very clear message. During lockdown, the Vintners Federation of Ireland and the Licensed Vintners Association sent out a very clear message to their members that they need to have respect for their customers and nobody should be breaking the Covid rules. We are not asking for the IHF to price-fix. We are asking it to say that the minority of hotels which are doing damage to the entire tourism sector, and not just to other hotels, need to cop on, frankly. It is having reputational damage. Mr. Kelly mentioned the survey. We have our own surveys in terms of listening to what people are saying. It is not just tourists; it is commercial travellers who are coming to us and talking about the costs for business. Given that those hotels are causing the damage, it is going to be very difficult for us to continue to argue for supports for the sector, which we want to do, when some IHF members are not playing ball.

I want to move on to the supply side because the points have been well made. I am interested in Mr. Kelly's point about the outlook for 2023. We are talking about a certain number of beds becoming available. Can Mr. Kelly sketch out where he sees us going on the supply side?