The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) recently made an oral submission to the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR), where it expressed serious concern in relation to the proposed system to justify increases in airport charges payable to Aer Rianta. The IHF stresses that this system must be changed or Ireland could become a highly unattractive destination for international airline carriers and in turn their passengers. In effect, the industry’s IR£4 billion annual contribution and 150,000 employees could suffer as a direct result.

The basis for the calculation of the charges, suggested by the Commission, takes into account the past and future capital expenditure on an airport’s infrastructure. It allows a return on that investment to the airport operator. It then divides the return by the estimated passengers and other airport throughput, to arrive at the maximum charges. This, the IHF believes, is not a valid method of calculating charges for use of the essential infrastructure of an island state. Airport and seaports are an essential part of an island's infrastructure like roads and bridges, and the state can not avoid its obligation to provide such services.

According to John Power, Chief Executive, IHF, the Minister for Public Enterprise has power under the Aviation Regulation Act 2001, to issue a policy direction asking the Commission to take into account the welfare of the Irish tourist industry and the government’s policy, on regional distribution of tourism growth, in the determination of maximum airport charges. The model in the draft paper "Proposed Maximum Levels of Airport Charges" circulated by the Commission is an arithmetical exercise which does not take into account the importance of air access to an island country.

"The current proposals ignore the important role of competitive low cost air carriers, which have a particular relevance in providing access into Ireland, an island with no land connection to Europe. We are calling on the Minister to instruct the Commission to carry out a study on all the implications before adopting the proposed system and make necessary amendments to the system before irreparable damage is caused to our industry," Mr Power told the Commission.

"The method of calculating and passing on charges in the way being suggested is absurd," he said. "The inappropriateness of this system is manifested by the fact that the maximum permitted charge per passenger at Cork and Shannon would be 44% and 22% respectively greater than at Dublin. Included in the calculations is the cost of providing a rail link at Dublin airport and additional terminal and runway facilities. Seeking a return on these investments from the users of the airports, also flies in the face of the Government's commitment to sustainable economic and employment growth and balanced regional development in the National Development Plan."

The IHF’s concerns stem from the fact that over 70% of all overseas visitors to Ireland arrive and depart by air, and low cost access is a key motivator for people when selecting a destination.

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National leaders joined forces recently in an important show of support for the tourism industry, which suffered as a result of the FMD crisis. Led by An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, TD, representatives of agriculture, business, trade union and tourism partners voiced their support for Bord Failte’s home holiday campaign which is aimed at encouraging Irish people to take a break at home this year. The reception, hosted in the Merrion Hotel, also drew attention to the meeting and conference business which is a significant contributor to the sector.

Pictured at the reception are (l-r) Dr. James McDaid, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation; Eileen O’Mara-Walsh, Chairperson, Irish Tourist Industry Confederaton; An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern TD; John Power, Chief Executive, IHF and Noel McGinley, Chairman Bord Failte.

It is with great sadness the IHF learned of the death of Kevin Barry, who died on 28th July in his 89th year, just 3 weeks after the death of his wife Patricia. Kevin joined the Federation as Technical Executive in 1975 in a development and advisory role. He was a qualified architect by profession, providing guidance on hotel design and construction and formulated many of the early Bord Failte grant and incentive schemes. He was also a founder member of CERT.

Kevin took over the role of Secretary of the Federation in 1977 and continued to serve the President, Council and Members with great dedication and courtesy until he retired in 1992. The President, Council, staff and members of the Federation extend their deepest sympathy to Kevin’s family. He will be sadly missed by all his former colleagues and friends.

The Board of Tourism Ireland Limited, the new all-Ireland tourism body has announced the appointment of Paul O’Toole as Chief Executive.

Mary Fitzgerald, IHF President, greeted the announcement as a significant step in the history of Irish tourism. Ms Fitzgerald stated that Mr O’Toole is a highly respected individual in the industry, who is the calibre of person needed to develop decisive, positive strategies to secure Ireland’s future as a top international tourism destination.

"His appointment marks a new era for Ireland’s national tourism industry in a time of great change and opportunity. The industry faces many challenges over the coming years, we need to consolidate the success of the last decade, whilst counter balancing recent events which have impacted on the 2001 tourism season. Mr O’Toole is uniquely positioned to fulfill this role with his vast wealth of experience from his eleven years with Bord Fáilte in a number of senior management positions in marketing, management, product development and research," said Ms Fitzgerald.

Tourism Ireland will carry out strategic all-Ireland destination marketing in all markets outside the island of Ireland and will also undertake regional/product marketing and promotional activities for Bord Fáilte and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board overseas. It is intended that the new company will be fully operational for the 2002 season employing over 140 staff in offices located in Dublin, Coleraine and in overseas markets.

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"Low cost air access is an increasing factor in the international movement of people. Low cost operators have pared costs down to a minimum by offering a basic service of point-to-point travel without any of the service elements that are common to full service airlines," Mr Power told the oral hearing. "These airlines have far less intensive use of airport resources due to significantly lower turn around times."

The IHF is in agreement the Competition Authority’s statement in its submission to the Commission, when referring to low cost operators, it stated that it is important the interests of these airport users (and air passengers) are met in the regulatory environment.

This has implications both for pricing (there should be a menu of options that a low cost operator should be able to opt out of) and for investment (the low cost operator may require much lower specifications in terms of terminal facilities than a traditional operator).

The Federation believes that, unless these important fundamentals are addressed initially by the Minister for Public Enterprise in a clear policy direction to CAR and, then complied with by the Commission, a situation could arise where airline operators including low cost operators will have insufficient incentives to maintain and increase their services into Ireland.

The IHF euro awareness campaign got into full swing recently with workshops taking place all around the country. The campaign is aimed to transform the generic euro advice to deal with the specific hotel industry requirements for the euro changeover. Special attention is being focused on reducing the current level of euro documentation into assisting members to produce a relevant, timely and practical implementation euro changeover plan.

Pictured are Susan McEvoy, Michael Jacobi and Gordan Corley, all from Camden Court, Dublin

Aer Arann Express is now one of the fastest growing regional airlines in Europe, with the news that they recorded a turnover of over £20m, and project passenger numbers of 300,000 in 2001. The airline currently offers daily scheduled services from Dublin to Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Knock, Sligo and Sheffield in the UK and is the third busiest airline operating from Dublin Airport after Aer Lingus and Ryanair.

Since 1998, the airline has built a network of regional routes from its base at Dublin Airport. In December 2000 the airline was awarded the contract to operate five public service obligation routes by the Department of Public Enterprise, successfully taking over the Dublin to Galway and Dublin to Kerry routes from the flag carrier Aer Lingus. The carrier has grown ten fold in the past eighteen months, from 70,000 passengers in 2000 to a projected 300,000 passengers in 2001.

Pictured is Padraig O’Ceidigh, Managing Director of Aer Arann

The first Euroceltic Airways flight took place recently between Luton and Waterford. The airline will offer twice daily flights between London Luton and Waterford, on a 48-seater Fokker F27 aircraft. Both business class and economy class seats are available.

Pictured prior to the inaugural flight are (l-r) Jennifer Kazandjian Director; Capt. Damian McGlone and Diran Kazandjian CEO, Euroceltic Airways.

Minister for Public Enterprise, Mary O’Rourke has announced that grants of £1.5m are to be made to the six regional airports to assist with their marketing, safety and security efforts this year.

The airports benefiting from the scheme are Donegal (Carrickfin) £200,000; Kerry (Farrarnfore) £350,000; Sligo £200,000; Knock £350,000; Galway £200,000 and Waterford £200,000.

Bord Failte has awarded the contract for inspection, registration and classification of accommodation to Excellence in Tourism Limited.

Excellence in Tourism Limited will now be responsible for inspection, registration and classification of hotels, guesthouses, holiday hostels, youth hostels, holiday camps, caravan and camping sites, holiday cottages and apartments. The appointment will be effective from October 2001- May 2001.

Bord Failte will continue responsibility for prescribing standards and monitoring the performance of the contractor and audit the quality of work undertaken.

The Lough Inagh Lodge in Recess, Connemara has recently been awarded four stars by Bord Failte. Situated between the between the Twelve Ben and the Manturk mountains the 12 bedroom property caters successfully for guests including hill walkers and anglers and boasts much repeat business every year. The Lodge also received a Gilbeys award in 1999 and has won awards for its cuisine.

The Career Roadshow for 2001 will start in October involving18 venues country-wide hosting the event. As in previous years, there will be a number of sessions during the day to suit attendees. These sessions are set for 10:00am, 1:00pm with a third in the evenings, this exact time is to be confirmed. The evening sessions are aimed primarily at parents and those wishing to return to the workplace. At each event it is hoped to have a good IHF presence from each of the local branches as it is through direct contact that potential employees will gain a good knowledge of the positive elements of working in the hospitality industry.

The IHF is seeking input from the industry on the presentation as part of the seminars.

Presenters ideally should be employees who are young, energetic, enthusiastic about their job and good communicators. They will need to be able to tell their career story to a group of secondary school students. All presenters will be paid for their participation in the roadshow, will receive full training in advance and will enjoy meals and accommodation.

This is a joint venture between the IHF, CERT and the RAI and will serve as one of the main recruitment events for the hotel industry this year. Hotels and guesthouses who would like to nominate employees for this important initiative should contact Anne O’Carroll at the IHF. The full list of venues and dates are as follows.

The IHF has produced a new Quality Employer Programme Brochure outlining what the programme is all about and what it means to hoteliers, their business and their employees. The brochure provides step by step information about how to become accredited to the QEP and the nine sections of the programme including:

• Recruitment and selection of staff
• Contracts of employment
• Hours of work, rostering
• Conditions of employment
• Pensions
• Training
• Performance reviews
• Grievane/ Disciplinary
• Exit Interviews

The brochures are available to all members from the IHF Head Office

A new Code of Practice for young people working in licensed premises was launched recently by The Minister for Labour Affairs, Mr Tom Kitt, T.D.

The Code of Practice is a collaboration between the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the IHF, the Licensed Vintners Association, Mandate, the National Parents Council, the Restaurants Association of Ireland and the Vintners Federation of Ireland.

The code contains valuable information to both employers and employees with regard to identifying the obligations, responsibilities and entitlements associated with employing 16 and 17 year olds in licensed premises.

Put very simply the Code allows the employer to

1. Employ under 18 year olds in all areas of the hotel until 11pm at night (previously 10pm) where the work day does not fall before a school day if the person is attending school. Under 18’s must not work before 7am the following day.

2. Full time bar apprentices may now work until 12 midnight (previously 10pm) but not before 8 am the following day, provided they are supervised by an adult.

Copies of the Code of Practice are available from the Employment Rights Information Unit, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Telephone No: (01) 6313131 or Lo-call 1890 220222 Ext 3131 or the Department’s website: www.entemp.ie

Pictured is John Power CEO, IHF, Minister for Labour Affairs, Tom Kitt T.D. & Liam Berney, ICTU