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Tourism Policy
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Tourism & Employment
Video: 26th November 2025
The Irish Hotels Federation recently appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Tourism & Employment to discuss key issues facing tourism businesses, including hotels & guesthouses.
IHF President Michael Magner and Chief Executive Paul Gallagher provided TDs and Senators with an update on the critical role played by Irish tourism in supporting over 270,000 livelihoods and enhancing economic prosperity throughout the country.
We also had the opportunity to highlight the challenges facing hotels and guesthouses and the key policy measures required to support the long-term development of our industry. These include measures to improve cost-competitiveness within the sector, increased funding for training and skills development and additional funding for tourism marketing and development.
A video recording of our opening statement, including transcript, is available below.
Opening Statement, IHF President Michael Magner
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment
26th November 2025
As the largest and most regionally dispersed indigenous employer in Ireland, tourism and hospitality is a key cornerstone of our nation’s economic prosperity, supporting over 270,000 livelihoods – representing one in every ten jobs across the country.
Approximately 70% of tourism jobs are located outside of Dublin, and 69,000 are employed directly by hotels and guesthouses.
Tourism makes an enormous contribution to economic diversification and rural development, generating over €10 billion in revenues annually and over €2.9 billion in taxes for the exchequer.
In addition to providing local employment, our hotels and guesthouses buy local services, source locally produced food and provide an essential economic infrastructure in support of local business and the communities in which we operate.
This does not come about by accident. Government policy is a determining factor in our success as is the outstanding support provided by our tourism agencies, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland. Their work driving tourism development, supporting businesses and promoting and marketing Ireland has been instrumental in building and maintaining Ireland’s reputation as a world-class destination.
Looking ahead, we are confident that tourism can continue to grow, provided it remains central to Government policy decision-making.