Representatives of the tourism and hospitality sectors met with the Fianna Fail parliamentary party this afternoon to discuss the scheduled return of the temporary 9% VAT rate for the industries back to 13.5%.
The delegation included representatives of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Irish Hotels Federation, Vintners Federation of Ireland, Licensed Vintners Association and the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation.
The group also raised the issue of the need to extend the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme, which expires at the end of this month.
Afterwards a spokesperson for the group said the meeting had been very receptive and all those in attendance supported the retention of the 9% rate.
The Government is coming under increasing pressure to further extend the 9% VAT rate beyond its scheduled expiry date at the end of the month, as the tourism and hospitality sectors argue that it will lead to increased prices and put businesses and jobs at risk.
The Government's Cabinet Sub-Committee on the Economy will meet over the coming days to decide the fate of this and other cost of living measures ahead of a Cabinet decision next week.
This afternoon the Irish Hotels Federation said the Government must ask itself why this country should have the third highest VAT rate in all of Europe.
"Ireland would then become an outlier among our international competitors in relation to tourism VAT – resulting in a 50% increase in consumer taxes on everything from the price of a cup of coffee, to the price of a meal out and a stay in a hotel," it said.
"This would be a very worrying development for tourism as Ireland's largest indigenous employer – particularly for regions throughout the country that critically depend on tourism to support livelihoods and the local economy."
