Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterpise, Tourism & Employment

Video: 26th November 2025

The Irish Hotels Federation recently appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterpise, Tourism & Employment to discuss key issues facing tourism businesses, including hotels & guesthouses.

IHF President Michael Magner and Chief Executive Paul Gallagher provided TDs and Senators with an update on the critical role played by Irish tourism in supporting over 270,000 livelihoods and enhancing economic prosperity throughout the country.

We also had the opportunity to highlight the challenges facing hotels and guesthouses and the key policy measures required to support the long-term development of our industry. These include measures to improve cost-competitiveness within the sector, increased funding for training and skills development and additional funding for tourism marketing and development.

A video recording of the our opening statement, including transcript, is available below.

Opening Statement, IHF President Michael Magner

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment
26th November 2025

As the largest and most regionally dispersed indigenous employer in Ireland, tourism and hospitality is a key cornerstone of our nation’s economic prosperity, supporting over 270,000 livelihoods – representing one in every ten jobs across the country.

Approximately 70% of tourism jobs are located outside of Dublin, and 69,000 are employed directly by hotels and guesthouses.

Tourism makes an enormous contribution to economic diversification and rural development, generating over €10 billion in revenues annually and over €2.9 billion in taxes for the exchequer.

In addition to providing local employment, our hotels and guesthouses buy local services, source locally produced food and provide an essential economic infrastructure in support of local business and the communities in which we operate.

This does not come about by accident. Government policy is a determining factor in our success as is the outstanding support provided by our tourism agencies, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland. Their work driving tourism development, supporting businesses and promoting and marketing Ireland has been instrumental in building and maintaining Ireland’s reputation as a world-class destination.

Looking ahead, we are confident that tourism can continue to grow, provided it remains central to Government policy decision-making.

And this is why, for example, the Government’s recent decision to reduce the rate of VAT on food services in the Budget is a welcome and timely intervention. It will offer much-needed relief to struggling food service businesses the length and breadth of the country in the face of serious cost challenges, particularly given their labour-intensive nature.

Cost challenges within the Irish economy are, of course, a serious concern for our entire industry. We are currently one of the most expensive places in Europe in which to live and do businesses.

Relentless increases in costs, including energy, labour, insurance, supplies and food, have placed immense pressure on our sector. These rising costs threaten both our competitiveness and the viability of hospitality businesses, undermining Ireland’s appeal as a destination.

In addition to cost challenges, our sector is navigating difficult headwinds in the form of declining tourism revenues, economic instability in key source markets and growing international political uncertainty. As we look toward 2026, these factors present real risks to our industry and the ability of hospitality operators to remain viable.

It is therefore essential that Irish tourism and hospitality remains at the heart of our national economic policy, ensuring the right conditions are created to support the long-term, sustainable development of our industry.

In this regard, the decision earlier this year to move the tourism portfolio to within a reconfigured Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment has been a very welcome development, bringing greater economic focus and a more coherent and coordinated approach to policy planning for our sector.

Among our policy priorities, the Irish Hotels Federation sees the following as key to ensuring tourism lives up to its full potential:

• Measures to improve cost competitiveness within the economy
• Increased investment in tourism training, skills and development, leveraging un-tapped surpluses available through the National Training Fund
• Increased investment in tourism marketing and development
• Targeted funding for a national hotel retrofitting scheme to reduce carbon footprint
• Removal of barriers to growth in air access into Dublin Airport
• Securing additional opportunities to enhance regional air access and connectivity
• Assisting hotels develop employer-led staff accommodation
• Effective regulation of short-term lettings, including the planned Fáilte Ireland register
• Measures to support tourism capacity growth, including the removal of barriers to hotel development

Tourism is central to our country’s economic and social well-being. As Ireland looks to strengthen competitiveness, productivity and sustainability across our enterprise base, our tourism and hospitality sector stands ready to play its role as a major engine of economic prosperity.

We look forward to engaging further with the Committee on these important issues today and into the future.

Irish Hotels Federation