Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Okay. When there is the opportunity to ask, I am sure the Minister is inundated with inquiries from the tourism sector, as I am, on the need for it to hold on to the 9% VAT rate. From what I am reading, many jobs and businesses are fragile now. Every industry is crippled by not being able to get the skills and labour force required. I see it more and more in parts of our hospitality sector, and particularly the hotels. These have cut back on the number of days there are open to the public. Much of this comes down to staffing, etc. I just want to take this opportunity to say, and I know this is not the remit of the Minister but that of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath, who will be making this decision, that there is a credible argument in the context of this industry to ask that the 9% VAT rate continue.

Moving to the Minister of State, I wish to follow up on the conversation he had with Deputy Dillon. I missed a little bit of it because I had some catching up to do. There is a gap, as I see it, where schools are developing and increasing their footprints at exponential rates. Major investment will bring top-class facilities into our primary and secondary schools. Where the gap in this regard is appearing and becoming more obvious is in the sporting facilities to complement this development. Many teaching and management staff have come to me to tell me these developments are fantastic but that there is a need to match this with the physical education and outdoor activity facilities. This is at both primary and secondary school levels. Their only place for them to go at the moment is to the Department of Education. I wonder if the Minister of State could expand a little more on these negotiations underway. Does the Minister of State see this gap being filled?