Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The situation is so bad now that some restaurants and pubs have to close early or are having to close a few days a week to cope with the shortage. The shortage of chefs is particularly acute. The Minister of State mentioned Fáilte Ireland's tourism careers research. That showed that there is currently a shortage of 40,000 workers in the tourism and hospitality sector, and 30% of businesses that were surveyed in 2021 said that they faced closure if recruitment challenges are not resolved. Given the very difficult past two years that the businesses in this sector have had, this is making things much harder for them at a time when they should be firing on all cylinders. Would the Minister of State agree that his Government should lead on this and increase the minimum wage to a living wage?

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