Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the Irish Hotels Federation quarterly barometer survey which was published on the 26 September. It revealed a very strong year for the tourism industry in Galway and beyond. The IHF report highlights the fact that 87% of hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation proprietors have increased their business this year. The overall tourism figures are up 10%. It is also good to hear that 97% of the hotel and bed and breakfast accommodation industry considers the Government's introduction of the 9% VAT rate has had a very positive impact on business. This has resulted in 73% of hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation proprietors have now hired an additional member of staff in the last 12 months. The IHF notes that since the Government came to office, 23,000 new jobs have been created in the industry and an additional 10,000 indirect jobs are being supported. I congratulate Minister for Health, Deputy Varadkar, who was the former Minister in this area, for his very successful tenure in this brief. The results of this are now coming to fruition.