Sir, – In the course of his well- reasoned case for the retention of the 9 per cent VAT rate for Ireland’s hospitality sector, Conor Brady (Opinion, September 26th) concluded, “The hospitality sector is in steady recovery. It is offering talented young people an alternative to emigration”. The facts are certainly there to demonstrate a recovery in the hotel and restaurant sectors, but what is happening with the resultant employment boost?
Over the past couple of months, I spent a series of short-term holiday breaks in well-known hotels near Athlone, in Westport, and in counties Donegal, Kerry and Waterford. There is little doubt all of these offer an excellent working environment. Yet a remarkable feature was the predominance of non-Irish staff in these hotels. Let me hasten to add, I have nothing against non-Irish nationals.
What puzzles me, however, is that we have hundreds of thousands of Irish people claiming unemployment benefits, and the prevailing media narrative across the airwaves and in print is that there are no jobs out there. So why aren’t more Irish people competing for, and securing, these additional hospitality jobs? – Yours, etc,
STEPHEN O’BYRNES,
Morehampton Road,
Dublin 4.