Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I remind the Deputy that, unfortunately, much of the money to which he refers is money that we are borrowing, so if the stay-and-spend scheme ends up costing far less than I expect, much of that will be due to reasons that are beyond my control. This means, in effect, that we are borrowing less and adding further debt onto this generation and generations to come. The scheme's underperformance, for reasons the House will be aware of, is one of the reasons I decided to introduce the lower VAT rate on the hospitality and service sector, along with precisely the reasons Deputy Naughten has identified. I recognise the work the Deputy is doing in promoting and advocating for the interests of tourism in the midlands, which I know is important to him.

The extension of the scheme to include vouchers is something I have considered but there is a significant amount of complexity and difficulty involved in doing that. It is something I will keep under review, but much of what the Deputy is referring to will now be advanced by the lower VAT rate.

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