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

I thank the Deputy for the points raised. I differ with him about the description he used for the support for the hospitality sector. He described it as a form of corporate welfare. Nobody is no more aware than I am of how much support went to that sector, though I know the Deputy is aware of it too. He is right that it is the largest beneficiary of the employment wage subsidy scheme. It also benefited from the Covid restrictions support scheme. It received those funds and support because it is a huge employer in our country and we asked it to stay closed. That support was needed. It was not corporate welfare. It was put in place for a particular reason and at a significant cost. When I see restaurants and hotels that have reopened and are employing significant numbers, I see that it was a support that worked.

The Deputy makes a valuable point, which I communicated when this measure was announced, that we expect that the measure will be used in a way that delivers competitiveness to those who are staying in hotels and using businesses and allows these businesses to ensure that, after what I hope will be a good summer, they have a good run of trade and viability as well as being able to offer pricing that will give confidence to consumers to use our hotels and restaurants. I also want to say that hotels in Dublin that take the period ahead to charge prices that are just too high will ultimately lose out from that. Tourists both here at home and internationally will go elsewhere and we will end up with the kind of risks and challenges we faced in the past. We see a risk of Dublin tourism and hotels becoming unaffordable and uncompetitive. It is bad for them and for other businesses across our country that need Dublin as an entry point into the rest of Ireland's tourism offering.

As the Deputy was speaking about Dublin, I looked at the prices of hotels, bed and breakfast accommodation, and apartments in Donegal tonight. I can see that excellent value is available, with prices of €80, €95 and €85 to stay in good businesses in a beautiful part of our country that needs a good summer and a successful part of the year. Those are the businesses I have in mind when bringing forward this 9% extension. Businesses outside Dublin need a period of certainty to ensure they can have a successful period of trading, especially as they exit the employment wage subsidy scheme. As Deputy Doherty knows, though in fairness he did not suggest otherwise, I do not have the ability to differentiate the VAT rate between hotels, restaurants and different parts of the country.

I appreciate that Sinn Féin is supporting the extension we are making here. It is the right thing for the tourism sector overall. I emphasise that if good value and affordable prices for hotels are not offered over the summer period, it will ultimately unravel the ability of Irish tourism to grow and make progress again after two difficult years. It will ultimately also show why this 9% VAT rate should be temporary.

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