Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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257. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the extent to which adequate hotel accommodation remains available to meet the requirements of tourism over the next five years in view of the trends already established and the likely demand in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22388/17]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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Fáilte Ireland monitors the performance of tourist accommodation through regular occupancy surveys.  This analysis indicates that while the country as a whole has sufficient stock of tourist accommodation, there are capacity constraints in areas of high tourist traffic at times of peak demand and additional capacity is required in certain parts of the country, particularly Dublin city. In this context, Fáilte Ireland commissioned an assessment of the supply and demand for hotel accommodation in Dublin, which reflected the position to late-March 2016.  This in-depth study was subsequently updated in order to take account of more recent data up to December 2016.  Although the results confirm the current shortage, they also indicate that there should be sufficient stock - whether being developed currently or being planned - to meet projected demand in the future, with the bulk of new stock due to come on-stream after 2018.

While the overall expectations regarding hotel capacity growth in Dublin up to 2020 have not changed materially between the original analysis and the most recent update, the number of hotel development projects known to be "on-site" has grown significantly in the interim and there is also a higher number of projects/bedrooms in the overall pipeline.

Furthermore, in response to consumer preferences, and in order to boost the economic rationale for investment in hotel development, Fáilte Ireland's revised Registration and Renewal of Registration Regulations for Hotels 2016 came into operation on 1 August 2016.  Changes set out in the Regulations should make investment more attractive by allowing hotel operators provide more rooms per square metre and operate at a lower cost base, thereby improving hotel capacity, competitiveness and profitability.  Consumers should also benefit in terms of increased room capacity, competition and range of accommodation.

For my part, I engaged in a number of meetings with stakeholders in the accommodation area - including key lending institutions, Fáilte Ireland and the consultants commissioned by Fáilte Ireland to conduct the assessments of supply and demand for hotel accommodation in Dublin – to investigate the matter further and ensure there were no undue impediments to the development of additional room stock in Dublin.  Overall, while I would welcome speedier delivery of additional capacity, I am encouraged that the challenges are being addressed.