Written Answers. - Tourism Industry.
Liz McManus
Question:
30
Ms McManus
asked the
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
if his attention has been drawn to the warning from the Irish Hotels Federation that staff shortages could plunge the tourism industry into freefall; the steps it is intended to take to ensure that adequate staff numbers are available for the industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[16141/03]
I have received a copy of correspondence from the Irish Hotels Federation to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment which outlines the difficulties being experienced by many of its members in obtaining work permits. The issues of work permits for non-European economic area, EEA, nationals and work permit restrictions in respect of reception staff and barpersons in the hotel tourism and catering sector for the period April to June, are, of course, the responsibility of my colleague.
According to the 2002 tourism business and employment survey carried out by Fáilte Ireland, formerly CERT, the number of people at work in the Irish hotel sector was maintained at 54,000 and the numbers employed in guesthouses, restaurants and licensed premises remained stable overall during 2002. The number of job vacancies fell, although not significantly in the case of hotels.
During 2002, Fáilte Ireland trained almost 12,000 people for the hospitality and tourism industry, of whom 3,700 were new entrants. With a projected demand for some 25,000 new industry entrants annually in the medium term, Fáilte Ireland is continuing to invest substantially in marketing initiatives to enhance the tourism industrys position as a first-choice career. Another part of the authority's strategy is to focus on helping enterprises to help themselves, with a particular emphasis on improving human resource management and encouraging best practice. In order to support employers of non-nationals, currently constituting some 30% of the tourism and hospitality workforce, Fáilte Ireland has developed an induction pack. Initially produced in French, Italian and Spanish, it covers customer care and operational hygiene as well as advice on living and working in Ireland.
The recently published interim report of the tourism policy review group outlines in chapter 8, entitled People in Tourism, what needs to be done to improve the employment status of the tourism industry and to enhance the appeal of tourism as a provider of good quality employment in Ireland. The group recognises that primary responsibility for recruitment, induction, training and development, and staff retention lies with the industry itself and points to considerable scope for development in this area. It acknowledges the State's role in encouraging best practice, benchmarking training and education arrangements in Ireland with those of other countries with which Ireland competes for visitors, the development of course content and the setting of standards of performance and of attainment. Finally, it believes that, in the current economic circumstances, the employment of a significant number of non-nationals in the Irish tourism industry is both desirable and inevitable, bringing with it responsibilities and needs on all sides.
I have asked Fáilte Ireland to consider the contents of the interim report and to identify a number of key recommendations that it might pursue with immediate effect. I have also initiated arrangements to put in place appropriate bilateral structures with ministerial colleagues and their Departments to pursue issues of mutual interest which impact on the future development of tourism.
