Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming in and for the work they do. I disagree with Deputy O’Sullivan. We need more Kerry advertisements actually, I want to put that on the record. It would be useful for the overall discussion on the humanitarian crisis we are dealing with, to have a breakdown of the average hotel occupancy rates per county. Is there a breakdown of the percentage of beds per county occupied as part of the humanitarian effort at the moment? I would say there are probably big differences between certain counties. That would help to inform debate on the issue. Is there a breakdown in regard to star ratings? A concern that has been flagged to me is that there is more pressure in the lower and more affordable offerings in the market. If there is some information on that it would be helpful. That might be useful for Fáilte Ireland as well as the Irish Hotels Federation. Does the Department have that information?

In regard to business conference tourism, if I recall correctly a subvention is available per head for conferences for overseas visitors. Does that contribute further to prices, particularly in Dublin? Is it an issue that should be considered for regional areas only until prices in Dublin stabilise? A great deal of long-term planning goes into conferences and business tourism. Should this be reserved for long-term conferences, much further into the future, until pressure is taken off the system?