Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate my colleague, Deputy Higgins' generosity in sharing time. I apologise to the House for missing a previous speaking slot.

I rise very much to support the Bill, which is good not only for workers and customers but, crucially, employers also. As mentioned by, I imagine, every Deputy in the House, there is an acute shortage of staff in all sectors, particularly in the hospitality sector. We need to make sure it is a sector that has lucrative and rewarding career prospects for all employees.

The Bill is not just about the hospitality sector. It is about so many more sectors. The idea of a tipping culture is to ensure that it is successful. I concur with all the points raised by my colleague, Deputy Higgins, about the importance of this Bill, particularly as we move further away from being a society that relies on cash. The day of having a couple of euro or fiver in one's pocket is simply gone as we rely on apps and tapping, as the Deputy explained.

I raise an issue which I ask the Minister of State to take back to his colleagues in government, not just the Tánaiste but crucially the Minister of Finance, Deputy Donohoe. I do not believe the Bill goes far enough. There is an opportunity as we make preparations for the budget in September to look at the example of what our nearest EU neighbours in France have done in this area. They introduced legislation whereby all tips for those working in cafes, hotels, bars and restaurants are now tax exempt. This is a budgetary consideration and has been working successfully in France for more than a year. We in this jurisdiction are not alone in having a staff shortage in the hospitality industry. It is impacting every country in the European Union and we have seen leadership from the country that has consistently valued the hospitality sector more so than many other EU member states. This would be a way to ensure that the hospitality sector has long-term career prospects wherein staff can maximise their return not just of salary but of tips. There would be no loss to the Exchequer because the number of tips that are taxed is minimal. This would, therefore, regularise the practice and allow people to give, to the full extent of their generosity, to the person serving them, be it the barman, waitress, or server in the background. It would also, no doubt, improve our already famous Irish customer service reputation around the world. It is one of the many reasons so many people enjoy coming here on holidays and why Irish people enjoy eating out.

This was something I pushed for before the last budget and I was very disappointed by the Minister's response, particularly in light of where we were at the time with the acute impact Covid restrictions had on the hospitality sector and the lengths to which hospitality owners and those working in the industry went to in accommodating patrons and those who wanted to enjoy the service.

Fundamentally, if we as a Government believe in putting more money back into people's pockets and in rewarding work, there is absolutely no reason we cannot follow the French example and make all tips tax-exempt.

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