Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 5 May 2021
258. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she will provide a five year plan outlining the measures including supports and taxation policy to ensure the sustainable recovery of the hospitality industry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23054/21]
View answer259. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she will provide a five year plan outlining the measures, including supports and taxation policy, to ensure the sustainable recovery of the hospitality industry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23055/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 258 and 259 together.
The tourism sector has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the necessary public health restrictions introduced to control it. Since my appointment as Minister, I have been fully engaged with stakeholders in seeking to identify and implement supports to ensure the survival and recovery of the tourism sector, of which hospitality is a key component.
A Tourism Recovery Taskforce was appointed last year to prepare a Tourism Recovery Plan which includes a set of recommendations on how best the Irish Tourism sector can adapt and recover in a changed tourism environment as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. The Taskforce presented the Tourism Recovery Plan 2020 – 2023 to me in September last year and it has been an important input for myself and my colleagues in Government in considering measures to assist the tourism sector.
Together with horizontal measures implemented to support businesses across the economy, such as the EWSS and the CRSS, the sector-specific supports I have introduced have been key in helping tourism businesses to survive and employees to remain engaged in the sector. The VAT rate for the sector has been reduced to 9%, which will improve competitiveness and viability of businesses. Any future change to our commitment on the VAT rate or future taxation policy is a budgetary matter but I will continue to engage with the Minister for Finance on these issues in view of the evolving situation in tourism.
The Recovery Oversight Group I appointed last December is keeping me informed of progress on the implementation of the Recovery Plan and developments in the tourism sector more generally and will continue to inform my thinking with regard to ongoing supports.
As part of the National Economic Recovery Plan, Government will be outlining how it will help people return to work and further support sectors which have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. We will consider more targeted measures to help reboot those sectors, such as tourism, which will face particular challenges during the recovery phase when the economy reopens.
In line with our Programme for Government commitments, the development of a new national tourism policy, which will have sustainability at its core, will commence later this year when the sector begins to recover from the COVID-19 crisis. This new policy will set out a path for the coming years which will support a sustainable recovery and subsequent growth in the sector. Tourism has proven itself resilient before and I am confident that, with the support of Government, it will recover from this crisis and thrive again.
