Kevin Humphreys (Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. Tourism is a very important industry for Ireland and has been so for many years. As the Minister of State has said, it is worth €9.4 billion. Unfortunately, if my children came to me today and asked me if they should make a career in the hospitality sector I would advise them against it. It has poor pay, poor conditions, poor career prospects and poor hours. If a person trains in Ireland he or she will, more than likely, go abroad because they would be treated badly here.

I am concerned at the trend, which I have heard over and over again, that everything would be fine if we gave work permits to encourage people from abroad. On many occasions I have come across foreign workers in Ireland who have been treated exploitatively and extremely badly. Unfortunately, our work permit system becomes indentured service because it ties the worker to a particular employer. The person becomes exploited, and if he or she does not do what the employer says, then the worker can be told to go home. That is no way to treat anybody.

I compliment Senator Gavan on the work he has done regarding exploitation in service charges and tips. The issue needed to be sounded very clearly. I want to see a sustainable tourism industry but I want to see the people working in that industry treated well, with respect and with proper career prospects and advancement throughout their career in order that they can buy their own homes and raise a family and not be exploited. Unfortunately, many of them are. I do not deny there are good employers out there but there are many bad employers who exploit people and not just through low pay and poor conditions. It can also happen through bullying and it can be a very badly treated workforce. It is no wonder - as Senator Mark Daly pointed out - that we cannot get Irish people to work in that industry. They are talking with their feet and simply will not go near it.

This problem also applies to Killarney and Kenmare. I have spoken with people in both towns who said they used to enjoy working in the tourism sector. They told me they would have worked seven, eight or nine months of the year and then have a period off later, or possibly they were laid off. They worked very hard for those months however, during which they received a reasonably good salary. They were able to buy their own homes and provide for their families. They are not able to do that any longer. Something has gone wrong with the industry when this has happened and when our own cannot see prospects of a decent living in that sector. As legislators, we have a responsibility to ensure people in a workforce have proper standards and quality. This is one area we need to look at.

The theme is sustainability and we have the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland's Ancient East and Ireland's Hidden Heartlands. They are all important. The greenway in the Acting Chairman's own county of Waterford has been extremely successful but now we have to look at sustainability. There is a change in mindset and we have to get in front of the ball in relation to the change with regard to climate change. We have to provide a product that is friendly to the environment also. While greenways can serve that purpose, we must also look at how people get to Ireland. Senator Mark Daly was quite right when he referred to cheap air fares and the impact aviation has on our climate. We need to base this on fact and on how we can make a sustainable tourism industry. We have to look at the impact the aviation industry has on transporting tourists into the country.

We are now looking at the tourism market in China, India and such areas but we must ask whether it is truly sustainable to have those types of air miles arriving here. Are we best utilising our ports? We are quickly coming down to having just one port in the State, which is Dublin. Is that sustainable? Do we need to look at other areas? The connection between Spain and Cork with Santander ferries, for example, has been quite positive. This gives another access route into Ireland but we have to look at this in the context of climate change. I have been thinking about this for quite a while. When people come on holidays, they are not under the same time pressures such as during their usual daily lives. One does not have range anxiety with regard to electric vehicles.Should we be looking at our major tourist resort areas such as Killarney, the Cliffs of Moher, the Wild Atlantic Way, and Ireland's Ancient East, to have the best infrastructure for electric vehicles, EVs? We could then say to tourists when they arrive that they could lower their carbon footprint by travelling around the country in such cars. This could be a definite plan and we could have a marking strategy for lowering one's carbon footprint. This has to be examined. On aviation, it is better to fly at night rather than during daytime. We need to do that audit, to be able to say to come to Ireland and this is how people can lower their carbon footprint in respect of the package that they receive in Ireland. The day is coming when people will make a decision on where they go on their annual holidays or on a break away for a weekend by reference to their carbon footprint. Ireland could develop a unique package for Europeans who could come to a country that has developed its greenways, and proper EV infrastructure could be a positive element of this.

I agree with many Members that we have to spread the product around the country, given many tourists stay in Dublin only. We have to examine what is happening in Venice, for example, and look into areas such as taxation and charging for packages. There is a demand for the services that a city provides to a tourist. The option of a tourism tax must be considered, which might be a bed tax. This would make it more expensive to stay in Dublin and would encourage people out of the cities to see what is happening in Kildare, the midlands, and Roscommon. We must look at this in practical terms and give the local authorities in different regions the option of taxation and of a bed tax. That money could be used to enhance the product itself or to pay for the services that those visitors need from the local authorities.

We have major challenges in the next decade to ensure a sustainable tourism sector. It can only be sustained by looking towards climate change and how we treat the staff that working in that sector, which is challenging. In many ways I am quite envious of the Minister of State's position. I see so many ways that he can have a positive impact on how Ireland is presented abroad, and how a tourism package can be presented to travellers. This can also be used to spread investment throughout the country.

The Labour Party and I were in government when the Wild Atlantic Way was developed. The previous Senator may not remember that. That was done for very little money. Senator Coffey, and the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Ring, had roles in rebranding. This was done with a tiny investment, compared to the returns made, which was mentioned at the time by the media. It was done right and proper and people living on that route have reaped the dividend of good imaginative thinking.