Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our visitors and I thank the Minister for coming to the House. She has always been willing to make herself available for debates relating to the Department. She has shown a passion and an interest in all of the areas of her very extensive brief. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media, which my colleagues have mentioned, works in a very collaborative way. We are appreciative of the Minister's understanding of our work and of the input of the Department. It is important that when we have a debate on tourism that we thank all those who are working in the sector. A large number of people work in tourism and hospitality throughout the country. They had a couple of very difficult years during Covid, and have come through it. There were extensive and very welcome Government supports provided.

Unlike others, and because there are so many wonderful tourism attractions in County Wexford, I do not have time to list them all other than to encourage people to visit wexford.ieor lovegorey.ieand see them. While Senator Gavan may lay claim to Limerick being Ireland's sporting capital, as the Minister knows well Wexford is Ireland's artistic, cultural and music capital. The Assistant Secretary is making a note of this so the branding will be included very shortly.

I thank Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland for all of the work they do in promoting the country, particularly when we look at some of the videos Tourism Ireland has put together and how it sells and markets. The investment in marketing of the country by the Department has been very important.

As previous speakers indicated, the hospitality sector has responded very effectively to the challenge of displaced persons, particularly from Ukraine. The difficulty is that this has meant that up to one fifth of hotel beds throughout the country are no longer available. This is not balanced nationally. There is a particular problem in certain counties where more beds are taken up. If a particular rural community has only one hotel the hotelier will be looked after it but the facility is unavailable for the local community. This is not only about hotel bed nights. It can also be about events such as weddings and family gatherings. We have a particular concern about downstream activity. If visitors are not coming to a community then its activity and adventure centres, coffee shops and sports facilities that depend on tourists will lose out.

The Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media has met a number of organisations, including the Arts Council and the National Campaign for the Arts. There is real concern about many summer arts and music festivals. There is a difficulty in getting accommodation for the artists who are coming to visit communities, never mind those who want to come and visit. If we do not have available more accommodation, particularly in some of the communities where bed nights have being taken out, then we will have a very serious problem.We need to look at some form of a structured programme, very similar to the one we had during Covid, to be able to support those businesses and also ensure that the arts and music are able to continue. It could be a very difficult summer. As Senator Gavan said, this is not about playing politics. The hospitality sector wants to play its part in meeting the challenges of the crisis.

Our other concern relates to the challenges around rural tourism and short-term lets. The Minister made announcements on this recently. The pause in the process facilitated by the European Commission will allow for clarity to be provided on short-term letting. We have particular concerns around rural and coastal tourism. There are a lot of valid short-term lets. They can be temporary guest houses, rooms may be available during festivals and so on. I know there is engagement with the sector but it is important that as soon as is practicable, we make it very clear what the rules are going to be so that the sector can adapt. Tied in with that is the need to examine encouraging additional accommodation in areas such as glamping and traditional bed and breakfasts and guest houses and to develop supports in those areas.

We need an increase in hotel accommodation. When Mr. Paul Kelly was before the committee, he said that in spite of the increase in hotel beds, Dublin city is “under-hotelled”, in his phrase, to the tune of about 5,000 beds. Similarly, there is also a challenge outside Dublin.

I agree with my colleague, Senator Wall. We have a problem with littering and the perception of Ireland being dirty. The use of CCTV by local authorities is something we have called for for some time. The legislation is now in place but we have been unable to roll out CCTV in line with the guidelines because of the delays. That remains a problem.

Finally, there is one upside of Brexit. Where school trips from northern France used to go to England, because it is much more difficult to administer, many are looking to come to Ireland in the shoulder season, particularly from Rosslare Europort. This is a major opportunity for growth and I hope the Department and the agencies would look to continue to expand this area.

I thank the Minister for all her continued work on this. She has a big challenge but we are all interested in supporting her to support the tourism sector.