Ms Elaina Fitzgerald Kane:

I thank the members for the points they have raised. There is a lot of positive work going on and congratulations are due to Fáilte Ireland on its brilliant employer excellence programme. There is a lot of work being done with transition year students as well. I see this work in the context of our hotel. It is amazing how a career can start right there when people have mentored opportunities. We are very grateful also for the training opportunities provided through the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. It is really positive.

At the last check, and Fáilte Ireland may be able to confirm this, there were 22,000 vacancies in Irish tourism. That is going to inhibit our ability to grow. One area we need to look at is the permit application system. There has been a lot of talk about the critical skills list and whether, for example, chefs be on it. I will give two examples. We have two great guys working on our pastry team. Both are with us for their permit. They want to bring their families here and there is no opportunity to do so. While their skills may not be considered to be critical in the same way as the skills of a heart surgeon are, that issue needs to be addressed because we are going to lose that talent in two years, which makes no sense. Reunification is important for people when they are plotting out their careers. These are people who are contributing to my business and businesses across the country. I hate to think we are going to lose that talent in two years' time. That issue requires attention.

I would like to comment on an issue raised earlier. Fáilte Ireland has stated that for every euro a tourist spends on accommodation, €2.50 is spent in other parts of the economy. When we look at some areas where there are very high levels of concentration around contracts, be it particular communities like Donegal, Kilkee or Youghal - I am sure this is replicated across the country - those businesses are going to suffer over the summer. We need to expedite looking at what measures we can put in place to provide assistance, particularly at the peak level of contracting that will be reached in the next few days. That ultimately determines the fate of these businesses, not just for this summer but beyond that, and we need to address the issue. In the same way, we need to look at car rental, the VAT equalisation measures that need to be put in place if we want to be competitive and the businesses that, through government contracting, no longer have the opportunity to be involved tourism. That is very important.

We have spoken a lot about value proposition today, and rightly and understandably so. However, we have to look at all the other issues, including people, which was brought up, and sustainability. We have a national tourism development plan coming and it is critical that we do not lose sight of where we are going beyond the summer. We have to grow. Where is the next version going to be for us?