The Minister recently met representatives of the Irish Hotels Federation, the Town and Country Homes Association and the Irish Farm Holidays Association who presented him with a submission proposing a statutory licensing system for all tourist accommodation. At this meeting the Minister reiterated his view, already expressed in this House, that he did not favour the statutory licensing of all accommodation but undertook to have these proposals examined and indicated he would be in touch with the associations in due course.
The Minister's view and that of his predecessor is that the statutory licensing of all tourist accommodation is not practical, nor would it necessarily lead to an improvement in standards to any great extent. In addition to possible difficulties as regards policing and prosecution, it could lead to a reduction in the accommodation bank available, particularly during the high season and at festival times.
At present unapproved operators do not have access to official marketing through Bord Fáilte and the tourist information office network, nor do they have access to tax breaks or other subsidised finance schemes which are available to the approved sector. The pilot tax relief scheme for certain resort areas and the subsidised tourism loan schemes were carefully designed so that only approved operators would be eligible. Unapproved operators are obliged to comply in the same way as approved operators with official requirements, for example, in the areas of taxation, planning, fire and safety and hygiene. My Department has impressed on the relevant enforcement agencies the need for constant vigilance to ensure their policing or inspection practices do not discriminate as between the approved and unapproved sectors.
The ideal solution would be for unapproved operators to become approved and I can confirm that both Bord Fáilte and the recognised approving bodies will mount an information campaign encouraging operators to seek approval and explaining clearly not only what is involved in terms of procedure, but also in terms of the benefits to be gained from being part of the approved tourist accommodation sector.