Pat Casey (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Senator Kyne outlined most of what is involved. Regarding the 31 August 2022 date, the Covid crisis has been rolling and none of us knows where it will end. Every time it extends, the period of recovery for the industry also needs to be extended. The hospitality needs the 9% VAT rate for a two-year recovery period. Ending this on 31 August 2022 will give it only a year because we will not be back at full capacity even in the middle of next year. Senator Kyne has referred to the importance of the hospitality sector throughout the country, but it is even more important in rural areas. The previous Government leaned on the tourism industry to create jobs and revitalise the country. In recent years the hospitality sector has had more time with a 9% VAT rate than at the normal 13.5% rate.

If the Government values tourism as it claims, it should look at the inequality across Europe where most countries apply the lower VAT rate to the tourism sector. If it believes in the tourism sector as opposed to using it for its benefit when it suits, we need a conversation not about August 2022 but what the real VAT rate for the hospitality sector should be in the future. We need that low rate to sustain ourselves into the future.