Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his responses, as always. The material prepared for us by the most helpful Oireachtas Library & Research Service when the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar, was here discussing The Gathering indicated that there has been a serious decline in value for money in Irish tourism. I am unsure whether that can be made up by giving the sector fiscal concessions. I would welcome at some stage an Irish private sector that would actually put money into the Exchequer rather than always having the begging bowl out, particularly in the context of so much demoralisation that has taken place down the line with people who are trying to cope with tax bills and so on. I am beginning to question whether we need a private sector which is always in and out of the Department of Finance looking for tax breaks, grants and so on. If someone stays in a proprietor's hotel, he gets to keep the money. That is the incentive.

The product and price have deteriorated. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar, said it has come back, but at a great cost. The sector had to introduce vast reductions and so on. It is an unusual sector in that it wants the State to do much of its marketing. At least other companies do not call on the State to sell their products for them. It has been making undue demands on an Exchequer which, as we saw earlier, had to move in this very Bill to tax maternity benefit and so on. We could do with a little less begging-bowl conduct from the Irish Hotels Federation, IBEC and the construction industry. We are trying to cope with an Exchequer which has far more pressing demands from low-income people. I realise the measures might eventually translate into employment gains but certainly we are encouraging bad habits by the so-called Irish private sector, which always seeks out the Exchequer as a resort for running its businesses. We need a little more entrepreneurship than that. I will not press the recommendation but I am surprised to see the measure because tourism is probably going to revive after some self-imposed penalties related to over-charging and bad value for money. For a hard-pressed taxpayer to be invoked in the recovery of the sector sends out the wrong signal when everyone else is having to make sacrifices. I will not press the recommendation.