Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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853. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the extent to which hotel occupancy has been monitored over the past three years to date with a view to identification of growth trends and prospects; if over or under supply of accommodation has been identified; the extent of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8308/14]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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854. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the extent to which the number of jobs in the tourism sector has improved in each of the past four years to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8309/14]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos.  853 and 854 together. 

Fáilte Ireland publishes regular statistics on accommodation occupancy levels. These are available under "Accommodation Statistics and Reports" in the "Research" section of their website

Since coming into office, the Government has taken key decisions to support tourism. The 9% VAT rate, which was initially a short-term measure, has been retained. The Air Travel Tax is being reduced to zero from April, and this has helped to secure additional airline routes and capacity into Ireland. The Visa Waiver scheme, launched in July 2011, has helped grow visitor numbers from long-haul markets.

 The CSO estimate that in Q3 2013 133,300 people (seasonally adjusted) were employed in the accommodation and food service sectors alone. This represents an increase of almost 12% (14,200 extra jobs) since the same period 2012.  It is also the highest level of employment in the sector in the third quarter since 2007.  According to the CSO QNHS, the equivalent seasonally adjusted Q3 figures for employment in the accommodation and food services sector for the requested years are:

2013 has been a very good year for tourism. The CSO overseas tourism figures show that a total of just under 7 million overseas visits were recorded last year, representing an increase of 7.2% on the 2012 figure with all of our main overseas markets reporting growth.