Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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140. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her plans for eco-tourism infrastructure in rural areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2573/22]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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As our economy and society begins to open up post Covid-19, we have an opportunity to address sustainable development and management more meaningfully within the tourism ecosystem. Central to developing a more resilient and sustainable tourism sector will be an increased focus on the promotion and development of sustainable tourism practices such as ecotourism. I recently brought a report to Government which identifies a suite of actions that will promote sustainable tourism practices which can be implemented prior to the development of a new national tourism policy. The successful implementation of these actions will shine a light on areas and destinations that are striving to be best in class in terms of sustainability and provide better access to information and tools for the tourism industry and visitors to practice responsible tourism.

I am very aware of the important role that tourism plays as a driver of rural economies and I am committed to a continued focus on the potential of tourism to facilitate the development of our rural areas. As we rebuild our tourism sector we will seek to realise Ireland’s ambition to be amongst the world leaders in sustainable tourism practices and to set out a path for a green transition of the tourism industry and for our destinations to become leading sustainable tourism destinations.

Our overall tourism product offering has led to Ireland being recognised internationally as a year-round, high-quality tourism destination in both urban and rural settings.  The further development of our tourism product offering, including any specific plans relating to environmentally sustainable tourism or eco-tourism, is an operational matters for Fáilte Ireland.  Accordingly, I have referred this question to the agency for direct response to the Deputy.  Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.

Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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141. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the measures in place to meet labour supply and skills requirements in the tourism sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2503/22]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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Recruitment continues to be a significant challenge for the tourism and hospitality sectors, with up to two-thirds of businesses reporting reduced capacity due to staff shortages.  My Department and Fáilte Ireland have been collaborating with industry and other Government Departments to ensure that there is a coordinated approach to addressing the labour and skills shortages.

Fáilte Ireland has recently conducted its most comprehensive research to date on the tourism and hospitality labour market. This robust and wide-ranging research programme covers the views of 1,000 employers and 3,500 workers with tourism and hospitality experience as well as international benchmarking, a review of education provision and consultation with recruitment agencies. This research is shaping Fáilte Ireland’s work programmes for the year ahead which will focus on:

- Supporting recruitment to drive recovery:  to provide support to the industry to address the immediate labour and skills supply challenges, which will be critical to the short-medium term recovery of the sector.

- Supporting the long-term repositioning of the industry: to support businesses and the wider industry to work together to drive the long-term repositioning of the industry as an appealing and rewarding career choice and workplace, and ensure a future pipeline of talent.

- Building employee capability and skills: to build the capability of individual employees to help businesses to bridge the skills gaps they are experiencing and also drive greater employee retention by improving the quality of training across the business.

Fáilte Ireland also chairs the Tourism and Hospitality Careers Oversight Group (COG) which will continue to work closely with industry bodies, education providers and other Government bodies to support sustainable employment in the tourism sector with an immediate focus on recruitment and retention initiatives, as well as focusing on the long-term repositioning of the industry as a career choice.

Officials from my Department participate in the Interdepartmental Group on Work Permits chaired by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Most recently the work of the Group resulted in up to 350 work permits being granted for managerial positions in certain tourism and hospitality businesses. Earlier this year my Department also successfully advocated for the prioritisation of chef permit applications.

I have also recently worked with Minister Donohoe on the extension of the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme. I will continue to engage with and provide support to the tourism sector through these challenging times.