Five hospitality sector organisations have urged the Government to address an impending commercial crisis resulting from rising costs, declining food sales, and tight profit margins.
The crisis is attributed to the Government’s economic policies, particularly recent increases in employment-related costs, which disproportionately impact labour-intensive hospitality businesses.
The letter is signed by the chairs of the Irish Hotels Federation, Irish Tourism Industry Confederation, Licensed Vintners Association, Restaurants Association of Ireland and Vintners Federation of Ireland
The groups seek the reintroduction of the 9pc VAT rate for food-related businesses, claiming the current 13.5pc rate harms profitability and competitiveness amidst ongoing financial pressures from consumers.
They warn that continued governmental inaction will jeopardise the long-term viability of the hospitality sector and the broader tourism industry, emphasizing the need for responsive policy measures.
The letter says: “Irish hospitality businesses now face a very stark reality in which Government policies are fundamentally at odds with the long-term interests of our sector and wider tourism industry. We are facing a perfect storm, largely as a result of a raft of recent policy decisions. While we have been repeatedly assured by the Government that it understands the extent of the challenges facing hospitality businesses, regrettably this has yet to translate into a meaningful policy response. Further inaction would be detrimental to the long-term prospects of our sector. It is now vital that the Government does everything possible to help put our sector and wider tourism industry on a more stable footing.”
