Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for having us here today to discuss this important report. I will begin by thanking my colleagues on the committee for their diligence around this issue. We had many hearings, with lots of contributions, ideas and suggestions. I want to thank them, and especially the secretariat of the committee who are sitting here quietly in the corner. Ms Laura Pathe and her team make it very possible and easy for us to do our job. I thank them.

A Leas-Chathaoirligh, Leader of the Seanad and all Seanad Members, I take this opportunity to be here today to discuss the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media report, Working Conditions and Skill Shortages in Ireland’s Tourism and Hospitality Sector. I also thank my committee member colleagues, and especially Senator Carrigy, who is here today to propose the motion for the debate.

The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media has reported on a number of topics during the course of this Dáil. With this being the first report selected for debate in Seanad Éireann, I am particularly pleased. I am delighted to be able to introduce this report to the House and discuss some of the recommendations contained therein.

Ireland’s tourism and hospitality sector is central to the vitality of the Irish economy and is often cited as being the country’s largest indigenous industry and largest regional employer. Hotels, restaurants, pubs and other establishments are the cornerstone of the céad míle fáilte offered to our visitors. The workers and employers providing these services are a pivotal part of our domestic economy and are of huge importance in promoting Ireland Inc. Yesterday’s announcement regarding the extension of the 9% VAT rate for the sector is a clear recognition by Government of the challenges facing the tourism and hospitality sector.

The committee welcomes the introduction of greater protections for workers in recent years, such as those addressing the need for transparent and predictable working conditions, a statutory sick pay scheme, a new public holiday, new rights around redundancy for people laid off during the pandemic and better protection of workplace tips and gratuities. The committee welcomes the EU directive on minimum wages and collective bargaining that was adopted by the European Council on 4 October 2022 and welcomes the directive’s focus on strengthening collective bargaining structures in member states.

In light of significant research completed by State agencies, union groups and academic figures, however, there is a considerable body of evidence to suggest that workers and businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector face real obstacles to a decent working life and to full complements of staff. Workers report issues with wages, employment precarity, harmful workplace behaviours and trade union access. Employers too cite immense challenges in terms of skills shortages, as they require a vast range of skills that they cannot attract solely from the domestic population.

The onset of the pandemic led to a series of restrictions that significantly impacted the sector and was a major contributing factor to a decline in employment in the sector, as well as a decline in uptake of relevant educational programmes. In its report, the committee recommends that State interventions are established to continue to offer some remedy to the sector, and to place the tourism and hospitality sector on an equal footing with all other areas of the economy. The sector currently faces skill shortages in many key operational roles. The report of the joint committee discusses the particular areas of need, the state of relevant educational initiatives, importing labour and talent management for the sector.

In conducting its analysis of this topic, the committee gathered a diverse range of opinions from key stakeholders across Government, State agencies, industry, workers’ representatives, and academia. The committee held four public oral hearings and considered 11 written submissions from relevant groups to determine the extent of any issues relating to working conditions and skills shortages in Ireland’s tourism and hospitality sector.

The committee acknowledges also Fáilte Ireland’s ongoing research in the area of skills and working conditions. The committee notes Fáilte Ireland’s report, Tourism Careers: Labour Research 2022, published in October 2022, which draws on interviews with more than 3,500 employees in the sector, as well as up to 800 employers. Findings from this report show positive progress toward favourable conditions for the sector, with approximately 70% of businesses increasing pay, providing more flexible work patterns and more stable and predictable work schedules to their existing staff and new recruits. This is very welcome. The data also show that employees recognise the improvements that have been made in relation to pay, perks and working conditions. This, too, is welcome.

However, workers still report that more remains to be done to make working in the industry as attractive an option as possible, particularly in such a competitive labour market. It is welcome that the Fáilte Ireland research also indicates that 70% of people working in the industry see tourism as a long-term career option, which is hugely encouraging for the long-term viability of the industry. The research does, however, indicate that recruitment and retention of staff in the industry is still a significant challenge for tourism and hospitality businesses. I am aware there are many Senators in the House who are involved in the sector and will be able to speak to that.

Arising from the written submissions and oral evidence presented, the committee makes a number of recommendations, some of which I will speak to.One of the recommendations states:

The Committee recommends that the Minister ... engage with Cabinet colleagues with a view to advocating for the expedition of work permit, visa, and Personal Public Service Number applications for tourism and hospitality workers, as associated processing delays directly impact the sustainability of the sector. The Committee also recommends that any changes to visa processing must include a provision that migrants must be fully informed, supported and supplied with all relevant documents pertaining to their employment including their contract and conditions and pay before their visas are granted.

An efficient and responsive employment permit system is critical in addressing Ireland's skills economy needs and in ensuring that talent is attracted to Ireland from non-EEA countries also. Stakeholder groups noted that any delay in work permit or visa processing has a detrimental effect on the skills shortages in the sector. Industry groups also called for change to the work permit or visa processing system. While the Department participates in the interdepartmental group on work permits and advocates for the prioritisation of chef permit applications, for instance, many stakeholders requested that any delays specifically affecting tourism and hospitality businesses be eliminated. It was also noted, however, that solutions such as the mass production of work permits focus solely on employer needs and piecemeal solutions and may have the consequence of subjecting vulnerable imported labour to substandard working conditions. To that end the committee recommends that provision must be made to ensure that migrants remain fully informed.

Recommendation 6 states:

The Committee recommends that the Department ... commission further research to meet the need for detailed research and empirical evidence on working conditions, and on the implementation of employment legislation, in Ireland's tourism and hospitality sector, with a particular focus on how women, minoritised groups, and migrant workers are affected.

While a number of groups presented research findings to the committee, such as Unite, Fáilte Ireland, Dr. Deirdre Curran and Dr. Mary Farrell, it was also suggested that there was a dearth of empirical data in the field and that further targeted research on working conditions in the sector was urgently required to ensure that the Government remains responsive to the needs of the sector and its workers.

Recommendation 8 states:

The Committee recommends that the Department ... engage with the Tourism Careers Oversight Group with a view to nominating a body accountable for the delivery of any recommendations made by the Group.

The value of the tourism careers oversight group was noted. It is an excellent example of best practice at national level and highlights the importance of a collaborative process to identify skills gaps and opportunities and to address skills needs. Stakeholders, however, called for an accountable body for the delivery of any recommendations arising from that oversight group.

Recommendation 9 states:

The Committee recommends that the Department ... engage with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science on the delivery of further apprenticeship, traineeship, and third-level diploma and degree programmes that are geographically accessible to as wide a range as possible of prospective apprentices, trainees, or students, and that are directly relevant to the tourism and hospitality sector.

Written evidence submitted to the committee suggests that rebuilding and developing sustainable talent pipelines could be a solution to the skills shortages found within the tourism and hospitality sector. It notes that a lack of recognition and understanding of the career opportunities in the industry, as well as a lack of recognition of such careers as careers of choice by schools, career guidance counsellors and parents, has led to a decline in the number of students within third level institutions in relevant tourism and hospitality courses, with some programmes cancelled entirely.

The establishment of an action plan and a funded task force for future development, promotion and training in the tourism and hospitality sector was recommended, noting that our education and training boards, ETBs, and institutes of technology are working in isolation in their offering of tourism and hospitality courses. There were also calls for the delivery of structures that will allow for the migration of, for instance, ETB trainees into universities and upward through the qualifications framework. The committee recommends that such training opportunities, alongside greater apprenticeship opportunities for those who wish to enter the tourism and hospitality sector, should be dispersed throughout the regions. It also recommends the linking of industries with educational establishments in order that both are readily accessible to trainees and apprentices.

Recommendation 10 states:

The Committee recommends that Fáilte Ireland further enhance its employer development and Excellent Employer programmes to encourage employers to grant uninhibited access to trade unions, and that Fáilte Ireland coordinate a publicity campaign to highlight such initiatives.

Union groups and others presenting to the committee observed that trade union recognition and the uptake of trade union membership are limited across the tourism and hospitality sector. It was noted that in some cases workers do not join a trade union as they are unaware that there are unions relevant to tourism and hospitality, in addition to a fear of "speaking out" or reporting incidences of wrongdoing they have experienced. It was also noted that, as a result of the transitory nature of some hospitality and tourism work, workers may not be aware of or comprehend their rights or entitlements. As unions can be denied access to the workplace, those who may require the services of trade unions cannot have their needs met. Union groups called for trade unions to have greater access to workplaces, whether through a noticeboard or specific allocations of dates or times during which workers may be able to meet a union representative in the workplace.

The committee welcomes Fáilte Ireland's employer excellence programme to support the industry to meet employee needs and to drive better employment practices throughout the sector through the actioning of open feedback between employer and employee. This is very important work, and it is imperative that where obstacles to accessing trade union membership are highlighted by employees through the employer excellence programme or other mechanisms, this be addressed without delay. The committee greatly welcomes Fáilte Ireland's work in this area.

The committee asks that the Minister take immediate action to engage with the recommendations in this report. It is of paramount importance that momentum is maintained in supporting this vital sector. My committee colleagues and I are grateful for the Minister's written response, which committee members received only today, an hour ago. That is disappointing in the sense that my colleagues have not had an opportunity to read that, but it has been circulated by the committee secretariat, and colleagues will have a chance to read it. Understandably, the committee has not yet had a chance to consider the Minister's response, but I look forward to engaging with her further and hearing Members' contributions today.