Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Good, I will do the lotto tonight because it is not often we get down to Question No. 154. This relates to the 9% rate of VAT. I have long held the view that to be competitive internationally and within our own domestic economy, the most that should be charged for our hospitality and tourism sector is the 9% rate of VAT. The Minister had a decision to make. His Department does not have easy decisions but I believe it was the wrong decision, quite frankly, to increase to 13.5%. It is effectively a 50% increase in the VAT bill for tourism and hospitality businesses. We see many of them are really struggling at the moment. We did have an exceptional mini-budget in May 2011. I do not think it would be a bad idea to repeat that process and reduce the rate to 9%.

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