Tourism Industry
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-22
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Michael Cahill (FF), Kerry

I welcome the response and I reiterate the appreciation I am hearing from businesses all over Kerry for the restoration of the 9% VAT rate, which has made a considerable difference. However, we need to make sure that our hospitality businesses can continue to employ people, invest, remain competitive and provide the tourism product on which communities such as those across County Kerry depend. The concern is that we are now caught in an ever-spiralling circle of the cost of doing business. VAT comes down but energy goes up. Labour costs increase. The cost of insurance increases. Input costs increase and businesses are forced to try to absorb these increases.
As I mentioned already, one business I have spoken to reduced its workforce from 125 to 105 while still trying to maintain the same level of output. It is stretching every available resource to keep the business viable. The energy figures published today should concern all of us. Wholesale energy electricity prices were 76.9% higher in August than a year ago.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-22