Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is welcome. I concur with the comments of Senator Cassells on the recent meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport, Gaeltacht and Media, of which I am a member. The IHF painted an extremely stark picture. The Minister is well aware of this and is engaging with the stakeholders but a strong conversation will have to take place early in the new year or the tourism industry will be decimated.

I come from Longford and was involved in the development of the Hidden Heartlands brand to try to promote tourism in my region. This region had the lowest tourism numbers in the country. We had started to build a product but now we are facing a situation where there will be no accommodation for tourists who come to the area. This needs to be at the top of the Minister's agenda. I also reiterate what I have said on a number of occasions, which is that the Minister needs to look again at the VAT rate because the entire industry is facing into a difficult period due to the accommodation situation.