asked the Minister for Transport and Power whether the 1970 targets for tourist accommodation in hotels and guest houses have already been reached; whether the hotel building programme is being reviewed with a view to preventing too high a level of accommodation; and whether the number of people seeking employment and the training facilities available for them are sufficient to properly service the hotel and catering industry.
Ceisteann—Questions. Oral Answers. - Tourist Accommodation.
51.
Bord Fáilte expect an increase of 2,300 bedrooms in 1970 as compared with a target of 1,500. The difficulty for a number of years was not too high a level of development but rather an inadequate level. For this reason it was necessary to introduce in 1967 improved financial incentives for accommodation development and these have stimulated growth. A satisfactory rate of growth has been reached and the question of reviewing the programme with a view to preventing too much accommodation development does not arise at this stage.
Difficulty has been experienced by the hotel industry in recruiting adequate numbers of trained staff, but part of the problem is the seasonal nature of the employment in some areas. The Council for Education, Recruitment and Training for the Hotel Industry (CERT), on which the hotel industry and trade unions are represented, is arranging programmes of recruitment and training to ensure adequate staffing of accommodation. An expansion in CERT's activities is required to meet the industry's requirements and this is now being organised. I am having consultations with all the interests concerned with a view to raising the level of recruitment and training to meet the increase in accommodation.
Can the Minister say who are the interests concerned?
The trade unions, the vocational education people, the hotel federations and Bord Fáilte. I am meeting them all. It is going on currently.
Does the Minister agree that the problem is acute at the moment? Is it not a little late in the day to be doing something about it?
We are doing something about it. The fact of the matter is that this is a major growth industry which is the bulwark of the economy and it is very important to organise recruitment and training for this industry to meet the exceptional rise in accommodation which has resulted from Government incentives which have been highly successful.