Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I echo the words of my colleague, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, on the Bill. I very much welcome it, I commend the Minister of State, Deputy English, and the Tánaiste on bringing forward the legislation and I thank everyone who has been involved in the process to date. It is very important legislation and gives more fairness not only to the workers in the industry but also to customers who will now know exactly what will happen to their tips. As someone who worked for many years in the hospitality sector and who was quite good at getting tips, I appreciate that it is appalling when some employers do not play fairly and do not reward their workers.

It is also very shortsighted and is so unfair on workers when it happens. This legislation will, I hope, try to eliminate that or certainly reduce the instances of it. I am speaking from the perspective of someone who helped himself through college and through those formative years mainly through the tips I earned more than by my wages. It made the difference between being able to get by and not get by at times.

It is also an incentive and a reward for working and trying harder. As Deputy Mattie McGrath was talking about earlier, we have some outstanding people in the hospitality sector both on the front line and behind the scenes who work very hard. Tips being available for them to keep and to improve their livelihoods is very important and should be incentivised. This legislation will go a long way to doing that and to provide the clarity and certainty also to the customer so that he or she knows what the position is.

I also grew up in a household where my father worked in the hotel sector for almost 40 years. Again, I know that the tips for him were a very significant part of his income and made a great difference to our household over the years.

An incentive brings out the best in people, to try and work harder and to look after customers if they are going to be rewarded for that. That is the way that any economy should function in that the harder one works, the greater the reward should be. Certainly, by doing this, we are helping that spirit.

A great number of young people work in the hospitality sector and can sometimes be exploited. There is a duty on the Government to do as much as it possibly can to try to eliminate that where possible and this legislation is another part of that action which is welcome.

My children are in the Public Gallery today and I welcome them. They have come all the way up from Kerry. In a few years, I have no doubt, they will be working in the hospitality sector. As the Chamber knows and as Deputy Michael Healy-Rae said yesterday we in Kerry are the undisputed capital of tourism in Ireland. We disagree on some matters but we certainly agree on that.

There is no shortage of work, thankfully, in the hospitality sector in Kerry and they are crying out for staff at the moment. It is very important for young people. The vast majority of employers are excellent and look after their staff but there are some who do not treat their staff properly. Again, that is very shortsighted and unfair because none of us would want any of our children to be treated like that and it should not be the case for anyone. People who come into this country from other countries and work hard also need to be protected by legislation. I thank the Minister of State for his work on this Bill. I look forward to seeing it being enacted and seeing the impacts on the ground within the hospitality and tourism sector.

I also say to the Minister of State that it is very important that we try to make it easier for employers to be able to bring in the skilled people they need, as we know that there are very many jobs which are not filled at the moment. That is a great challenge to the industry. Anything that he can do to streamline the system for employers is welcome so that they can bring in the people who are needed with the critical skills that are required in the economy. I call on him and on the officials within his Department to keep up the work to try to improve the situation. I am constantly being contacted by people in my constituency in Kerry who want to bring in chefs and various other skilled employees and are encountering very significant difficulties with permits and all of that. The situation has improved but still needs some work and I thank the Minister of State for the work that he has done on this to date. He is always very obliging on any occasion I contact him for help in that regard. It is something that is holding the industry back and is also preventing more tax coming in from that industry, tax which is welcome for all services.

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