Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach agus tá fáilte roimh an Aire go dtí an Seanad an tráthnóna seo. Like many others, I want to welcome the Minister’s statement earlier today on artists. It is ground-breaking. It has been very much acknowledged and recognised. I met with the Music and Entertainment Association of Ireland, MEAI, today and it is very happy with what the Minister proposed. It will be very important and significant in terms of developing the whole area of arts, whatever form of art it is. I have been involved myself, mainly through broadcasting.

This evening many Members on every side of the House have spoken about the challenges. The first message I have coming from the sector is to say thanks for the supports given and the constant engagement. It was a rough time, but it is acknowledged that with the support of Government we managed to keep the business going. It is good to see in budget 2022 we have a record level of funding for tourism, at €288.5 million overall. That is an increase of €67.5 million over 2021 allocation. Some €241.7 million is the current funding and €46.7 million is in the capital funding.

Like many others, I raise the issue of staff. I know a number of restaurants and hotels in my county, Roscommon, are struggling badly because they cannot get staff. It is sad to see fine establishments closing one or two days a week. That is what is happening. I was just thinking about this and I talked to a hotelier in Roscommon the other evening. There are a lot of semi-retired but not elderly people who worked as chefs and cooks in many establishments, sometimes in the Army or other institutions. We should look to a scheme encouraging them back in the short term. It would be a huge help. Many of them would come back. They will not want to work a full week, but they might do 20 or 30 hours a week. I know one hotel owner had a staff member who could not come in the other day.The young lady in question, who has a young family, had to spend 15 hours cooking in that hotel to help the chef. That is the type of sacrifice those people have to make to keep their establishments going. Perhaps we could suss out some way of addressing that. Maybe we could establish some type of scheme to encourage staff who worked in particular areas as chefs and cooks to come back. Hopefully, as things return to normal, some of the pressure will come off the sector. That is important.

The Minister is well aware of the importance of the 9% VAT rate. It is vital for the recovery of the sector. Like everyone else, I believe staycations will be very important. While all the people coming from abroad are very welcome and spend a lot of money here, it is important that we promote staycations as part of the recovery programme.

For many years, my county, Roscommon, was not spoken about. It has some of the most hidden beauties in the Hidden Heartlands. People are only beginning to discover the fantastic facilities, such as Lough Key Forest Park, the Arigna Mining Experience, Loughnaneane Park in Roscommon town and all the villages along the River Shannon, including Termonbarry, Rooskey and Lecarrow. The real gem is Strokestown Park House. I am aware the Minister spoke about it some time ago. A €5 million development of the National Famine Museum is ongoing. We will welcome the Minister to the town. The development is ahead of schedule and should be opening in the coming months. It is one of the biggest projects in the Hidden Heartlands and it will bring a significant increase in tourism to our locality.

That is all very important. There are many gems in my county and around the west and midlands that are still only in the process of being discovered. Hopefully, the more we discover them, the more tourism will grow and the more revenue will be available to the State. Really and truly, we are going to have to look at tourism more and more in terms of revenue. People regularly see me on social media walking the glorious hills of Slieve Bawn. I invite everyone to visit the area. It is the most fantastic place. As Senator Carrigy will be aware, a wind farm was installed in the area some years ago and all hell broke loose. Everyone enjoys the area fantastically now, and the history of the mountain has been opened up. The walking trails are fantastic and they are great for one's health as well. There are many gems in the county. Local communities are working hard on many projects. Despite all that is going on in the world, we are in a positive place in terms of tourism in this country. I commend the Minister's work and that of the Government in the area.