Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister of State, the Leader and the Cathaoirleach know, a review is necessary and it relates to this amendment. To give an example, the Guinness Storehouse is the biggest tourist attraction in the country. I referred to it last week and I did some research over the weekend. It would be difficult to spend €75 in the Guinness Storehouse as people might buy a trinket, T-shirt, glass or cap. To give the example of the Shannon heritage sites, including the Cliffs of Moher, Kylemore Abbey and Bunratty, to name but three. A tourist would find it difficult to spend €75 in a visitor attraction shop at those sites. As the Cathaoirleach will know well since Kenmare is a tourist town and is close to Killarney and Blarney, there are hierarchies in terms of product. A tourist shop selling Waterford Crystal, Aran sweaters or high-end scarves would have no problem making a €75 sale unlike visitor attraction outlets selling T-shirts and key rings. We are now introducing, without any review or commitment, a new tier of tourism product. We are saying to the tourist attraction shops in Kylemore Abbey, Bunratty, the Cliffs of Moher and the Guinness Storehouse, to name but a few attractions, that they are different from other places. That is not right.

In addition, it is not right to foist this measure on the retail sector, given that, as I said in the previous debate, 2021 will probably not see a major influx of tourists holidaying here. Given that the amendment was passed, why not delay until March the introduction of the €75 imposition?That would give the Department three months to engage with and talk to Revenue, the Department of Finance, the retailers, the companies that work to put in place till system updates and digital solutions, and the refund agents. If I am wrong, I would like the Minister to tell me. By my reckoning, as someone who took pass maths in the leaving certificate, today, 8 December, is 23 days from 31 December. That gives the Department 23 days to engage with all these groups. I do not see it happening. I therefore ask the Minister of State to consider 1 March as an option.

The other point I wish to make in the context of the Bill is that the retail export scheme has expanded to over 65 countries around the world. Many of the organisations involved in the management and operation of this excellent scheme work hand in glove with retailers to provide a seamless experience for the customer and the tourist. The €75 threshold is causing consternation. To put this into context, I will give the Minister of State three examples of where businesses will suffer. No review has been issued by the Government. There has been no cost-benefit analysis. Has there been any engagement? If there has been, we have not heard of it. Is the Minister of State aware that the average visitor from the United Kingdom, for example, spends 11% of his or her budget on shopping and will therefore not represent a threat to the retail export scheme? Secondly, UK visitors to our country contribute €1 billion to our economy and, therefore, 95% of that VAT will always stay in Ireland. I welcome the change in the benefit of the UK tourist but I go back to the point I made the other day.

I ask the Minister of State to consider the representative bodies and what they said in the tourism committee about the challenges our hospitality sector faces. Senator Gavan this morning made a comment about people coming into work. The Leader quite rightly said that people who come in and volunteer should not have to face that threat. Our plateau in respect of the number of tourists arriving from the UK has been reached. Their numbers are declining following Brexit and the exchange rate volatility. The retail export scheme will encourage UK visitors to visit more and spend more in all sectors and therefore contribute to our economy if the scheme is available.

I do not have an issue with a quid pro quophilosophy but I think many in the House will agree with me that we need to keep jobs and promote sustainable jobs in rural Ireland and our regional towns. I have referred to a number of the visitor centres there. What Fáilte Ireland has been doing has been about ensuring regional distribution through, for example, the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland's Ancient East. That is done in a number of scales, not only through seasonal distribution but also through promoting the visitor experience and the physical experience of tax-free shopping in our country. No other country is doing what we are doing on tax-free shopping.I accept it was in the Bill last year in the event of there being no deal. That Bill was never implemented or enacted. What consultation has taken place with the refund agents who have articulated a concern about the UK visitors' usage of the scheme? Why is there now a sudden need to introduce this provision? Despite our tourism figures in 2020 having understandably plummeted, in 2021 with the likelihood of Covid still being here notwithstanding hopefully the availability of a successful vaccine - all of us in this House should encourage people to take the vaccine - we are now saying that with travel virtually ceased, 50% of other tourists and current Irish retailers are being penalised.

Nobody wants the threshold to be abused. I have no vested interest other than being from Cork and seeing the importance of the cruise liners to the Port of Cork, Blarney Castle and Blarney Woollen Mills. We are selling ourselves short when we have a unique tourist experience. Senator Casey spoke about the corporation tax last week. This is our calling card in respect of our visitor experience. This is a short-sighted decision. It would be logical to continue to allow tourists from different countries to be able to spend money when we emerge into a new normal whatever that may be.

I hope we will come back here again to have that review. I thank you, a Chathaoirligh, for your indulgence and latitude. This is a very short-sighted decision by the Government, which regrettably does not allow for the experience that has been enjoyed to date to be continued.