Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

This is a short but technical Bill but it is also important, and we intend to support it. It gives us an opportunity to talk about all the aspects of tourism. Fáilte Ireland recently launched a €600,000 campaign stating, "Winter in Dublin, it's magic". I do not disagree with that in the slightest. I am an extraordinarily proud Dub but we have issues that may impact on the people who come here to visit. I want to touch on them.

The magic that Fáilte Ireland refers to will take the form of live music, events, family and festive occasions and it will focus on cultural traditions. This is some of what is promised in a bid to encourage visitors to the city throughout the upcoming winter and holiday seasons. Footfall in Dublin has always been important to the tourism industry but after two years of a global pandemic the need for this is more important than ever. I am conscious that when I was on Dublin City Council footfall in the city was in decline because of some of the M50 shopping centres that were taking it from the city. The global pandemic has meant that our other institutions around the city have felt a fall in numbers because people were taking themselves away from the city centre.

A study by the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation in 2021 stated the cost of Covid-19 to the tourism industry was estimated at a staggering €13.4 billion with more than 100,000 jobs lost. It is crucial in this bid to revitalise the tourism industry that we should simultaneously seek to expand and develop efforts across Dublin, lest we run the risk of turning the city into some sort of Disneyland -ype of spectacle where we only portray what Irishness is rather than capturing and digging into that culture, and being our best at it.

We eagerly welcome tourists yet struggle to call Dublin a functional city. What I mean is we have increased hotel prices, and I will talk about that shortly. The average daily rate for a hotel bedroom in Dublin for April 2022 was €154, which was up 16% on the same month in 2019. Car rental prices in the city are extortionate. There are delays, baggage issues and winding queues in Dublin Airport, all due to a lack of staff and resources and all presenting an image to tourists that is perhaps not a fair reflection of the city once they get here. There are indicators that the most basic necessities when considering successive trips taken by incoming tourists are not functioning as they should. Headway needs to be made to ensure this funding for the industry is allocated correctly. Businesses need the support to provide the type of services and standards that tourists expect when they get here.

Four concerns for businesses relate to rising energy costs, other operating costs, the cost of car hire and people lacking disposable income. Ireland’s artists who provide so much to the industry and are vital for the live events and music that Fáilte Ireland promises in its Winter in Dublin campaign need support. The minimum basic income scheme will go a long way to do that but we must also remember that for many years how we project ourselves onto the world stage is always through our artists and culture. Those are the same artists who have been screaming for many years to be respected. The most basic form of that respect relates to the money they are paid.

5 o’clock

Some 2,000 artists will receive the basic minimum income for artists. We can go a little further than that once the pilot ends.

How can a city plagued with issues such as a housing crisis and increased levels of crime claim to provide 100,000 welcomes to those who visit? I am conscious the image of O’Connell Street, Dublin's main thoroughfare, portrayed on the “RTÉ Investigates” programme tonight will be one of antisocial behaviour in the absence of gardaí. These are issues that need a multidepartmental approach and we need to get in touch with them. If we are to invest €500 million, as we should, in the next couple of years and €600,000 for a winter campaign for Dublin, we need to take a multilateral approach. These enhancements to our city cannot rely on magic to progress. Funding and effort need to be directed to pushing Dublin forward in its development because in order to provide a welcoming and successful experience for holiday-goers, the experience of Dublin as a city needs to be strengthened.

One aspect of Dublin, on which the Minister established a task force, and one that has been talked about by young people in the city for the past decade is the night-time economy, as it is called. However, it is not only an economy; it is a sense of place and how welcoming a city is both for tourists and residents alike. A night-time economy and city is at its best when tourists and people who come into the city - either those who live there or those who visit - can feel intertwined. We only need look at other European holiday destinations for young people to see that Ireland is lagging behind when it comes to its nightlife. Countless students and young professionals are choosing to fly to Berlin, Amsterdam, London and Barcelona for weekends and holidays where they find a wide range of nightclubs, music venues and creative spaces that cater to their interests and needs. It has reached the point where people refer to Dublin as a glorified town, devoid of the vibrancy that makes a city stand out as a cultural capital. The knock-on effects of the limited options facing our young people in the evenings are causing monumental damage. Along with the sky-high cost of living, many cite a lack of nightlife as a reason for emigrating, leaving us with staff shortages across the hospitality sector and less money spent in the venues that remain, leading to many of them closing.

The Covid-19 pandemic caused unimaginable harm to the night-time economy and we have had to say goodbye to countless venues and events that promoted Dublin as a top-class cultural destination. Long before that, however, successive Governments were driving those spaces into the ground and the failure of local government to take a leadership role in them was also a cause of destinations and venues that people used to visit going out of business. Late licensing costs have long crippled ambitions, businesses and projects that would have flourished if given the supports they required to grow.

As nightlife and arts activists, Give Us the Night, pointed out last month, Ireland has gone from having 328 nightclubs nationally to 85 today. It is no wonder that our young people fly to cities that sustain an exciting roster of gigs and events of all genres, where they and their interests feel better represented.

If thousands of young people are leaving the country for a better quality and more varied lifestyle, why do we expect tourists to flock here? It is not as if they come here for the weather. Ireland’s greatest strength has always been our culture and the warmth of our people. However, after 11 p.m. on most weekdays, there is nowhere for tourists to get a taste of the Irish hospitality for which we are so famous. I am sure we all have seen groups walk from venue to venue in Dublin on a Monday or Tuesday evening, unable to find anywhere that will take them in after 11 p.m. That is unheard of in most European capitals.

Tourists and consumers alike are not the only ones who suffer from the Government’s lack of support for the night-time economy. Ireland’s artists are leaving the country in droves due to a lack of spaces where they can perform their craft, whether they be musicians, comedians, actors or otherwise.

On Culture Night, I went down to the old fruit market in Dublin to get a sense, and I think the Minister was there as well. It was incredible to see young and older people engage in this large venue which lies derelict for most of the year. Dublin City Council has been talking about reopening it at as a fruit market or some sort of venue since I was on the council six years ago. It is telling us now it will be 2026 by the time any kind of event is taking place there. That is a huge loss.

Young people are feeling better appreciated elsewhere. Without our artists, we lose one of our greatest draws as a destination and our soul as a people. Unaffordable aparthotels will not bring people to Dublin, yet they are starting to dominate our skyline. These developments have received much greater support from this Government and local government than start-ups, which would attract tourists wanting to experience our unique culture. During the pandemic, many of us asked when we will dance again. We are still asking that question half the week as we walk home at 11 p.m., disappointed at what once could have been a great and memorable night. Nobody wants to travel to Ireland for disappointments such as that.

For the events that do take place, ticket costs price many people out of them. Tickets for more and more concerts are costing well over €100. The Government must take action to improve accessibility and affordability.

Even on a Friday or Saturday where people might find a few options in Dublin in the early hours, they will be lucky to get a taxi home. I have countless constituents who will not travel into the city centre, even just across the Liffey, because they know they will have to stand around and be unsafe due to an inability to access a taxi later at night. That is part of where I see the absence of joined-up thinking. Despite card payment facilities being made mandatory in taxis since the beginning of September, we all still witness fares being turned down by drivers if they consider the journey too short.

We need better lighting around the city and a more effective visible policing to make our journeys home safer and great affordable public transport options to make those nights out possible. With the rise in energy costs, many businesses are saying they will now turn the lights off when they close up. What strikes me most is that Dublin comes across as unsafe when the lights go out. We need to ensure that businesses can be supported to keep them on.

The difficulties faced by these small businesses led to soulless multinationals buying out what are essential community spaces that showcase the best areas the country has to offer. These native businesses need greater backing to survive the coming winter, which promises unthinkable difficulties.

We have yet to see many of the consequences of the Government’s lack of support for the night-time economy in Dublin or for the arts in general. Believe me, it is one of the many reasons our young people and artists continue to leave the country in search of a better, more vibrant existence.

Another issue that raises its head in the summer - it certainly that pops up with every seasonal event - is price gouging among hotels. How many of us have gone onto Booking.comjust to see the cost of hotels in Dublin during the summer months? For example, in two weeks’ time, the Dublin Marathon will take place. Many of the 20,000 people who take part will come into the city and try to find accommodation only to be priced out of it. At various different points during the summer when any seasonal or important event is taking place, the price of hotel rooms in the city centre increase to between €350 and €500. That is simply unacceptable. When the Irish Hotels Federation was asked about this a number of times during the summer it pointed to supply and demand. It pointed also to the Americanisation of hotels, which no longer show a price on the door but, rather, tell people that if they book long in advance, they will get some deals. As hotel rooms are taken up, they become more expensive. That is not acceptable and it also gives the impression to tourists who come here that it is only the wealthy who can afford this city. This city is always at its best when people can get into the agora of Irish and Dublin society, can afford a hotel, go for a night out, have a drink or go to one of the cultural venues they see and believe they can afford to be here. For too many, that is not the case. There is no point to saying to people, “Come to Dublin for the winter – it is magic”, when many of the hotel rooms are already booked up and those that are not booked will price out tourists. That is not even close to being acceptable. The excuse has been made that some hotels are being given over to meet the needs of those who are suffering at the coal face of the housing crisis or fleeing from war. They should not be scapegoated for rising hotel prices. I welcome the investment into portraying Dublin on the world stage. However, people who will come here for the winter need to know they will be able to afford to do so and that requires thinking across various Departments. I thank the Minister and her Department.

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