Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, and I have met, both together and separately, with representatives of the Irish Hotels Federation on several occasions. The Deputy has rightly identified the serious problems facing people in the sector. As he knows, however, it is for the Minister for Finance to make a decision as to whether any of the initiatives to which he referred are included in the Finance Bill. It is an issue that the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, has taken up with the Minister for Finance, as have I.

I agree that debt restructuring is a major concern for hotel owners. Some of them would be coming into profitability in the next year or two were it not for their debt burden. The Deputy is also correct that this is a particular problem for hoteliers in rural areas as opposed to in the cities, where there has a been significant improvement in occupancy rates. The recent initiative to reduce VAT and PSRI has proved successful in creating extra jobs in the sector. I acknowledge, however, that serious issues remain, including over-capacity and below-cost selling of bed nights. As I said, we are engaging with the Department of Finance in order to see what can be done. Ultimately, however, it is a matter for the Minister of that Department as to what specific measures are introduced.

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