I welcome the opportunity to speak on tourism today. I also welcome the information the Minister has provided on the plans in this space and the development that he is pursuing. The points that I want to make do not take away from any of that. I acknowledge the work that is being done but I have some concerns and I am sharing them today in the hope of being helpful to the Minister in the development of what he calls sustainable tourism. The point is that sustainable tourism has to be more than just a phrase. It has to be thought through. I also want to correct Deputy Doherty because it is actually Kerry that is the loveliest county in Ireland. Donegal is a close second and I am spending my holidays there this summer. The key point I want to make around sustainability and the vision for tourism is that tourism is supposed to serve the community, not the other way around, but many communities up and down this country have seen that balance reversed, unfortunately. There is a growing awareness of this issue globally as well. In the effort to make ourselves palatable and commercialised for tourists, we risk losing the culture and society which brought the tourists here in the first place. I also want to talk about the fact that tourism is a key sector of our economy but it is also where we see some of the poorest quality employment, sadly. I will start on the over-tourism point. As I said, tourism is supposed to serve our communities and not the other way around, but up and down the country, that balance has been reversed. Over-tourism is a serious problem that is already having an impact on people and communities across Ireland. Nobody is denying that tourism is important to a lot of people in this country. For many, particularly in areas along the west coast, it is either their livelihood or the livelihood of others in their community. On our islands and across many communities, the tourism income they take in each summer is the difference between continuing to exist as a community and not. However, these communities are also seeing the amount of money returned to them decrease, year on year, as big companies take more control in the sector, with tourism becoming a burden on community infrastructure instead of a boon for the people. We have seen in Spain and other countries the impact it can have if the approach to tourism is not properly planned and balanced. We do not need to look abroad to see this, however. If one goes to west Cork or Connemara, one will see holiday homes sitting empty or on Airbnb, while young people in the same community cannot afford to buy a house and start a family. One will see hordes of chain tourist shops selling the same gimmicky image of what Ireland is, while local small businesses and artisans cannot afford the premises costs and are priced out by cheap goods made overseas. We need a system that takes into account the housing, infrastructural and community needs of areas around the country when we develop tourism. We also need to ensure that when these communities generate countless euros for the Irish economy, they see a dividend for that instead of being further eroded as communities. Ba chóir go mbeidh bua eacnamaíoch na turasóireachta ag dul chuig an bpobal féin. Má tá turasóireacht ag cur brú ar an bpobal, caithfimid a chinntiú go bhfuilimid ag tabhairt cothrom na Féinne do na pobail sin. In the effort to make ourselves palatable and commercialised for tourists, we risk losing the culture and society which brought them here in the first place. I want to raise issues that were highlighted recently by the arts festival organiser, Naoise Nunn, with the strategic tourism festival investment scheme, where Kilkenny Animated is seeing a 75% cut in funding over three years. Arts-led festival organisers are highlighting that they appear to be losing out in favour of more commercially-led tourism events, despite the fact that arts-led festivals like this are exactly the things that draw people to Ireland as tourists. They come here to experience our culture and society but if we do not acknowledge that in support schemes for tourism initiatives, these festivals will be smaller and less engaging, and will eventually disappear altogether, one by one. This does not just impact the festival themselves, but the hotels people stay in, the restaurants they eat in and the businesses they go to. They represent huge value to the Irish economy, as the Minister acknowledged, particularly to indigenous Irish businesses. We need to ensure the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, and Fáilte Ireland in particular, view the support of these initiatives and festivals as part of their remit. We cannot leave this solely to a very underfunded Arts Council, particularly when these festivals clearly support and are a part of regional tourism. I have been having a lot of conversations with people in this space and there is frustration about falling between stools in different Departments. The success of our festivals in drawing in tourists cannot be underestimated. We need to deal urgently with the issues that are leaving them caught in a policy gap between Departments. Finally, I want to raise the issue of the jobs supported by tourism. Tourism is a key sector of our economy but it is also where we see the poorest quality employment. Dr. Deirdre Curran in the University of Galway recently published a report on the experiences of hospitality workers in this country, the vast majority of whom work in workplaces where tourists are a key part of the customer base. The findings were stark, but not really surprising, given what we already know about pay and conditions in this sector. Around 52% of workers surveyed did not get the breaks to which they were entitled, just under half did not get a written employment contract and one in five said they did not get their holiday pay. There were tales of physical, verbal, and psychological abuse faced by these workers. It is also important to flag, however, that many of these people love the work they do. They carry it out with pride. They are proud to provide good service to their customers and are a key part of what makes Ireland the country of céad mile fáilte. We want to see a strong, resilient tourism industry but we will not be able to manage that if we do not tackle these issues. We must tackle staff turnover and invest in quality jobs in tourism. We urgently need to tackle low pay, ensure enforcement of employment law, and address the poor conditions faced by so many workers who are absolutely vital to Ireland's tourism industry and who love their jobs but who are being badly let down by the current practices this report has exposed. Teastaíonn uaillmhian uainn san earnáil turasóireachta. Teastaíonn fís uainn do ghnólachtaí, féilte agus poist san earnáil seo a thacaíonn leis an bpobal, lenár sochaí agus lenár gcultúr, ní hamháin ó thaobh airgid de, ach ó thaobh dea-thionchar ar na gnéithe sin. We need a vision for tourism in Ireland that celebrates our culture and our communities and that benefits everyone, from the minimum wage worker in a hotel to the young family living on the Aran Islands. We can have it but only if we are serious about reforming our attitudes and policy to look beyond just money spent to where and how that money is spent and who, ultimately, benefits.

Sentiment score: 0.12