Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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285. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her views on the introduction of a bedroom tax for visitors to hotels in Dublin. [2955/23]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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While taxation matters are ultimately the responsibility of the Minister for Finance, the introduction of a tax on short-term stays in paid accommodation is not a straightforward matter from a tourism perspective.

The tourism sector generates very significant revenues for the Exchequer and the potential increase in costs that this could present would need to be considered very carefully given the importance of inbound international tourism to Ireland's economy.

An accommodation taxation measure would have to take account of issues such as who would pay the tax; for example, whether it would be limited to international visitors or would it be extended to all tourists including domestic visitors. The geographic scope of such a measure would also need to be considered carefully.

Other issues around such a tax include the tax collection mechanism and its potential impact on the administrative burden on accommodation providers. The purposes to which the revenue raised might be applied would also have to be examined.