I thank the Chairman and members of the joint committee for the opportunity to address them today. PALI was founded in 2019 and represents approximately 120 play, activity and leisure businesses across Ireland. Our members include indoor play centres, pixel floors, jump zones, bowling alleys, pet farms, go-karting tracks, climbing walls, family entertainment centres and many other activity-based businesses. They are not large corporate operators. They are in the main regional SMEs, family businesses and local employers. They employ local people, support local suppliers, contribute to local economies and form an important part of Ireland’s domestic tourism and family recreation infrastructure. Across our network, PALI members represent a significant economic footprint. Collectively, our members have an estimated turnover of €51.6 million and a wage roll of over €20.6 million and provide employment across communities throughout the country. The reality today is that our members face a cost environment that has become extremely difficult to sustain. These businesses are highly labour intensive, heavily reliant on footfall and vulnerable to seasonality, and operate without the corporate reserves larger businesses may have to absorb shocks.
Before I outline key policy concerns, I want to bring the committee into the lived reality of a family business owner in our sector for just one day. At 7 a.m., while trying to get your own children ready for school, your phone buzzes. A supplier emails to say you have a price increase of 8%. By 8.45 a.m., the key turns in the door. Before a single customer arrives, the safety checks begin - miss one safety entry and there can be insurance implications. Lose focus and a child could get hurt. The responsibility is constant. Duty of care legislation has been a great help but bogus claims are a real threat to our businesses. By 9 a.m., you may have a school booking of 100 children arriving. You hope it will help cover the fixed overheads for the day. Our biggest competitors are often free State-funded amenities such as parks, playgrounds, libraries and community spaces. Those facilities are valuable and important but they do not face the same cost base as our members. Our rates bills, insurance bills, payroll obligations and utility bills are certain but income is completely exposed to footfall, weather, seasonality and household affordability. I must acknowledge the reductions made and extensions of reliefs but assistance in this matter is required again.
At 10 a.m., the children arrive. For four hours, there is noise, energy, laughter and pure magic. The children leave with memories of school tours, birthday parties, family days out and moments of joy. This is why our members do what they do, but by 2.30 p.m., the owner may have skipped lunch to cover staff breaks, answer emails, chase invoices, deal with bookings, manage a complaint, fix a maintenance issue and prepare the roster for the weekend. For many family entertainment centres, the business does not truly break even until the summer or peak holiday periods. The quieter months are carried on hope, overdrafts, personal sacrifice and the belief that the busy season will make up the difference. Doors may close at 6 p.m. but the work does not stop. At 6.30 p.m., you collect your own children and find another bill in the schoolbag. You smile and carry on because that is what small business owners do. By 11 p.m. on Friday, you are back at the laptop - wages, PAYE, PRSI, VAT, rates, insurance, electricity, suppliers, loan repayments, compliance filings and pension obligations all have to be met. There is no one else coming to carry that burden. That is the hidden stress our members carry seven days a week so that Irish communities and visitors to Ireland have safe, welcoming, weather-independent places to go when the sun does not shine. That is the human reality behind the phrase “cost of doing business”.
The core issue for PALI members is that the pressure does not come from one single cost; it is every single cost at the same time. Labour costs are one of the largest expenses for our members. Our sector is highly labour intensive. Safety issues, supervision, cleaning, catering, customer service, maintenance and administration all require staff. Our members fully support fair pay and proper pension provision. They value their teams and want to provide decent employment. However, increases in wages, employer PRSI and pension auto-enrolment are all landing together on small businesses already on very tight margins. Pension auto-enrolment is an additional existing payroll cost and it must be recognised as such when the Government considers the wider cost burden on SMEs.
Energy costs are another major concern. PALI members operate large premises with high ceilings, open spaces, heating, lighting, kitchens, refrigeration, ventilation and significant electricity demand. They are expensive buildings to heat, power, clean, insure and maintain. Food costs are also rising. Many members operate cafés and food offerings as part of the overall family experience. Families expect food to be available when they attend our activity venues, but the cost of food, packaging, waste, staffing and utilities has increased significantly. These increases cannot simply be passed on to our customers.
PALI was formed because of the insurance crisis facing play and leisure activities many years ago. At that time, many operators were facing enormous premium increases and some were struggling to secure cover at all. Premiums rose by multiples of five. For businesses operating with children, families and physical activity, insurance is not optional. Without insurance, there is no business. Compliance and maintenance costs are also growing. Our members take safety and standards seriously. Equipment must be inspected, repaired and replaced. Staff must be trained. Cleaning standards must be maintained. Fire safety, food safety, employment law, insurance requirements, health and safety policies and general regulatory compliance all require time, expertise and money. PALI supports high standards. Our members want safe, professional and well-run businesses but the cost and administrative burden on small businesses have become increasingly difficult to manage.
This brings me to one of PALI’s central concerns, formal recognition. Our members provide much more than entertainment. They support children’s physical activities, mental health, social development, inclusion and well-being. Many provide space for school tours, youth programmes, Special Olympics athletes, active retirement groups, minority groups, families with additional needs and local community initiatives, yet we are routinely excluded from targeted supports because we do not fit neatly into one policy box. We are often too commercial for community grants, yet too community-focused to be treated simply as commercial entities. We can be told we are too much like tourism for one scheme but not tourism enough for another. Where do we sit? Clearly, we do not sit under sport, tourism, hospitality, retail, entertainment or community, so the question for our members is what administrative umbrella we actually fall under. The lack of recognition has real consequences. When supports are distributed, businesses like ours can be left stranded because of rigid classification silos. This has caused huge stress for members, particularly where supports such as increased cost-of-business grants or other schemes are applied.
While our sector may fall through the cracks, we are all part of Ireland’s tourism infrastructure. Ireland markets itself internationally as a welcoming destination for families. Significant State funding is invested in attracting visitors but when families arrive, particularly in a country with an unpredictable climate, they need indoor attractions, family recreation and safe spaces for children. PALI members are part of that infrastructure. On rainy days, our members are often the places where families go. We are part of the tourism experience but are not always recognised or supported as such. PALI calls for formal recognition of play, activity and leisure providers within tourism and enterprise policy. This is not about labels; it is about access, inclusion, planning and survival.
The Irish Tourism Industry Confederation has warned that domestic cost pressures are damaging Ireland's tourism offering, eroding value for money and squeezing the markets of local tourism providers.
We have four questions to put to the TDs and the Senators on this committee. In their towns there are play centres, bowling alleys, pet farms, climbing walls and go-karting tracks. With the cost crisis, who will replace them if they close permanently? What is the Government’s plan for the future if they are gone? PALI is asking the committee to advocate for immediate framework interventions ahead of 2027 to help SMEs. These are: formal recognition of play activities and leisure providers within tourism and enterprise policy so that members can access relative supports and be included in future planning for all of the SMEs and leisure centres, particularly family leisure and play and activity centres; immediate measures to address rising energy and food costs where the costs are threatening the viability of small businesses; and the recognition of pension auto-enrolment as an additional existing payroll cost for SMEs, with consideration of offsetting supports for small employers already under severe pressure.
If independent family attractions are forced to close their doors, many will not reopen. The impact will be felt, not just by business owners, but by the staff, families, children, schools, local suppliers, tourism, and communities. We urge this committee to end the administrative isolation of our sector, recognise our structural value, and give PALI a definite voice in shaping the future of family recreation, domestic tourism and community activity in Ireland.
I thank members for their time. I would welcome any questions.
