Vol. 522 No. 2
420 Mr. McDowell asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if there is any system in place to ensure that bed and breakfast accommodations meet certain minimum standards; and if regular checks are carried out to ensure that these standards are maintained. [17928/00]
In addition to providing for the registration of certain types of tourist accommodation, the Tourist Traffic Acts enable Bord Fáilte to publish, or cause to be published, lists of other forms of tourism accommodation premises, such as Bed and Breakfasts, which are not registered titles under the Acts. The system by which Bed and Breakfast accommodation is listed is a voluntary one and operators who do not wish to be listed by Bord Fáilte are not prohibited from carrying on their business. However, statutory requirements in areas such as taxation, planning, fire and safety and hygiene, which are matters for the relevant local authorities, apply to all providers of tourist accommodation, whether listed or unlisted.
Premises who wish to be listed and included in information literature distributed by Bord Fáilte offices internationally, through the Tourist Information Office network or the Gulliver information and reservations system, must comply with the requirements and criteria drawn up by Bord Fáilte.
Initial inspections are carried out of all premises applying for listing and thereafter further inspections are carried out at least once in every two years of all listed premises. Following the 1994 AD Little review of Bord Fáilte, this listing function has been outsourced by Bord Fáilte.
The criteria laid down by Bord Fáilte, in consultation with the bed and breakfast representative associations, are always subject to review in order to ensure that the highest international standards are met. The most recent such review was carried out last year with new criteria coming into force from January of this year.
