Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 22 June 2023

Public Accounts Committee

Appropriation Accounts 2021
Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 4: Re-allocation of Voted Funding

9:30 am

Ms Katherine Licken:

That is okay. We are acutely aware of this issue and we have raised it with the industry. The Ministers will be meeting with the industry next week. We have stressed to the industry the importance of reputation, and the reputation of Ireland as a value-for-money destination. We are also critically conscious that the sector has its own pressures. It is dealing with the cost of living and with energy pressures also. Nonetheless, there is a reputational issue for Ireland. This is not happening across the board. There are obviously pinch points in Dublin. We understand supply will increase in Dublin in the coming years and that should ease that competitive pressure and should hopefully bring prices down. However, we are very mindful of this issue. As the Deputy said, it is a year out and you cannot book tickets-----