Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter. A number of catering businesses in my constituency have fallen victim to the high cost of doing business that has been prevalent in recent years. Each loss is a blow to the business owners, employees, their families and other businesses that trade with the business that closes. The loss of these businesses impacts on the local economy and the sense of vibrancy of the area in which they are located.

Measures must be examined and, where appropriate, taken, to assist businesses in need of supports. For these reasons, Sinn Féin proposed the €250 million PRSI rebate scheme. What is that scheme and why did we propose it? Its purpose is to support businesses in coping with rising costs while at the same time ensuring workers can receive the pay increases and sick pay they need and deserve. These are added costs that benefit workers and businesses alike.

When the pandemic hit, Sinn Féin supported the reduction of the VAT rate for the hospitality and tourism sectors to support them in enduring such challenging times from November 2020 to the end of August 2023. This was the correct response. This motion calls for food and catering services to be specifically targeted for the reduction of VAT to 9%. It is a useful element to this motion, to distinguish between the hotel sector for whom this motion does not provide, but for food-led businesses that have suffered from the high cost of business. We must bear in mind various factors when making this distinction. First, there are hotels that use dynamic pricing, which can, by its very nature, harm the rest of the hospitality industry. As I understand it, this may be a factor in the distinction being made here. We must also remember that specifying food and catering services would not eliminate hotels from benefiting from this motion due to the fact that alcoholic drinks currently have a VAT rate of 23% as well as excise duty. These would not be reduced by this measure. For this reason and because of the various ways in which a reduction in the VAT rate could be tailored, it is prudent that a review be undertaken to establish the appropriate level of VAT for the hospitality sector. That is what Sinn Féin would do if it were in government. I say this because when the reduced VAT rate was withdrawn by the Government it was withdrawn from the entire sector. While the hotel subsector did not require this support, it was badly needed by other businesses such as cafés, restaurants and hairdressers. That is why it is important the Government's amendment be opposed because any measure to shut down any further examination of VAT rates must be resisted.

See this speech in context