Vol. 381 No. 9
asked the Minister for Labour if he is in a position to report progress in relation to the discussions which have taken place between representatives of the hotel industry and CERT with regard to the proposed contribution of £500,000 per annum towards the running costs of CERT; if he will confirm that the hotel federation are not trying to evade their obligations in this respect or seek a 25 per cent reduction; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
28.
asked the Minister for Labour if the discussions with the hotel industry have reached a stage of finality where he can confirm that a contribution of £500,000 will be made by the industry in 1988 to CERT to meet with the costs of training which is undertaken by CERT with the assistance of taxpayers' money; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 and 28 together. The proposed contribution of £0.5 million towards the costs of training and manpower services provided by CERT has been accepted in principle by the various sectors falling within CERT's remit including the hotels sector. CERT's proposals on the apportionment of the contribution to be made by each sector are now being finalised with industry representatives taking account of the employment potential, the number of businesses in each of these sectors and the current distribution of CERT services.
Is the Minister in a position to state to the House that the £500,000 would be paid by the composite groups that make up the recipients of CERT assistance in this fiscal year?
The intention is that collection of contributions will be by statutory means where possible. It will commence as soon as possible and, it is hoped, will be completed by the end of the year.
Does the Minister and the House not recognise that the hotels federation in particular fought their way out of the amalgamation into the body of FÁS on the grounds that they would maintain the effectiveness of CERT as a separate body? Does the Minister not further recognise that the hotels group in particular have benefited substantially from taxpayers' money in the form of heavily subsidised training and that they are continuing to evade their commitments and their responsibilities in this regard? If he is prepared to make an admission of that kind, will he not agree, and can he not now tell the House, that the hotels group will pay in 1988 the £500,000, which is the same kind of contribution that the rest of the industrial sector pays for similar type training?
The hotels are agreed in principle to an increased contribution.
They are agreed in principle to a united Ireland.
CERT are involved in negotiations with representatives of the various agencies including the hotel industry. These negotiations are at an advanced stage and it is hoped that they will come to a satisfactory conclusion.
Is the Minister aware that this requirement was first indicated as far back as the publication of the Estimates? Is he aware that the Minister for Labour has, on a number of occasions, accepted that if the scheme does not come into operation early in the year the decisions will have to be much more severe because it will be more difficult to collect the money over a shorter period. In those circumstances, if there is an agreement in principle, why has it taken so long to come up with a formula so that the money can be collected and spread out over as long as possible of the calendar year?
As the Deputy is aware, any of us who has to collect money faces a number of difficulties.
I know the Minister has difficulty in that regard.
They are not all fishing hotels.
It is anticipated that revenue will accrue from a number of sectors such as hotels, guesthouses, licensed premises, restaurants, the industrial caterers, farmhouse town and country homes, and indeed even hospitals. Detailed agreements have to be worked out. Discussions are at a very advanced stage and there is no question but that the money will be forthcoming.
The list of the various sections the Minister gave was available at the time the Estimates were published. If the Minister expects to collect £500,000 this year, that money will have to be collected over a period of a few months which is obviously going to be much more severe on the industry than if it was phased over the full period. Will he not accept that there seems to have been some untoward delay in putting this into place?
We are at the start of the tourist season — from 1 July to end September — in the area we are speaking about. We are at about the halfway stage of the year and there has to be some measure of agreement if we are to provide for the totals we are anticipating. Whatever delays there may have been in the past, it is anticipated this revenue will be forthcoming this year.
We are making very little progress at Questions today.
May I ask the Minister if the agreement in principle with the hotel federation is equivalent to the agreement, in principle, with the Trout Anglers' Federation in regard to rod licences?
Please, Deputy, that is not in order.
I appreciate that the Minister is not directly responsible for this area, but would he convey to his Minister the anger in this House with regard to the present situation? Would the Minister not agree that what the hotel federation and the associated bodies are doing is ripping of the taxpayer, because effectively they are getting a £3 million to £4 million superb service for which they are currently paying less than £50,000? This House is requesting the Minister to ensure that that money will be collected as promised in this year.
I do not have anything further to add to what I have already said. The intention is that this revenue will be forthcoming this year and every effort is being made to finalise negotiations with the people who will make these contributions. I have no doubt it will work out very satisfactorily, as I have no doubt the tourist rod licence issue will work out satisfactorily in due course.
5.
asked the Minister for Labour the progress, if any, which has been made by CERT in relation to their efforts to obtain overseas consultancy contracts, with respect to 1987 the revenue which was earned from such contracts; and the estimated revenue that will be earned in 1988 from similar contracts.
In 1987, CERT participated in a major consultancy venture, a tourism development project in Malta commissioned by the World Tourism Organisation from the Shannon College of Hotel Management to whom CERT provided technical assistance. The income from this project amounted to approximately £7,000.
CERT have recently submitted tenders for training contracts in Singapore and the Caribbean. These contracts are worth $170,000 (over two years) and £60,000 (over 15 months) respectively. In addition, CERT are currently pursuing contracts in the Isle of Man, Ethiopia and India. In 1988 CERT expect to earn £120,000.
A five year international training consultancy plan was recently approved by the Council of CERT and has been submitted to me for consideration.
