Written Answers Nos. 195-201
195. Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the total amount of money spent on promoting County Wexford as a tourist destination to date in 2025; the nature and extent of this promotion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67871/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraRegional development is a key focus of our Programme for Government and is central to the work of my Department and our Agencies. At the outset, I should clarify that regional tourism promotion is an operational matter for Fáilte Ireland, in collaboration with Local Authorities and other tourism stakeholders, and that Fáilte Ireland do not allocate its marketing spend on a county-by-county basis.
The Programme for Government provides that this Government will work with Fáilte Ireland to develop a balanced regional spread of tourism throughout the country, promoting and enhancing the Hidden Heartlands, Ireland's Ancient East, the Wild Atlantic Way and Dublin. Fáilte Ireland has established localised Destination Experience Development Plans (DEDPs) to activate these brands.
Wexford is included in Fáilte Ireland’s “Ireland’s Ancient East” Regional Tourism Development Strategy 2023 – 2027. The Wexford Destination and Experience Development Plan (DEDP) which was launched earlier this year by Fáilte Ireland, aims to create a sustainable tourism destination by extending the tourism season and spreading business across all parts of the region over the next five years. The DEDP integrates both existing and new projects throughout the county, while also exploring new tourism development opportunities to enhance the value of the tourism sector in County Wexford. The strategy emphasises the need for greater connectivity among Wexford’s coastal, rural, and urban experiences to boost the county's appeal to international visitors. The DEDP has been developed through a collaborative approach and will be dependent on local tourism businesses, stakeholders and local communities working with Fáilte Ireland to implement this plan over next five years.
As part of Fáilte Ireland’s sponsorship of the RTÉ weather, a dedicated sting for Wexford is included in the annual rotation and runs for a 2-week period reaching on average 1.6 million people per week on average 8 times during 2025. This is supported with complementary messaging across RTÉ Player and RTE.ie. Tourism Ireland also regularly highlights Wexford to their 7.4 million followers on social media, sharing compelling content (stunning images and video) on platforms including Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
Tourism Ireland, in conjunction with Fáilte Ireland, undertakes a programme of fact-finding visits for tour operators and travel agents from our key markets, so that they can experience the superb tourism product in Wexford. In September, fourteen Italian travel agents visited Ireland’s Ancient East, including County Wexford. Their itinerary included the Dunbrody Famine Ship and The Irish National Heritage Park. In May, twenty-four Spanish travel agents visited Ireland’s Ancient East, including Wells House near Kilmuckridge.
In 2024, the Dunbrody Famine Ship visitor experience in New Ross, Co. Wexford was officially opened following an investment of €1.6million which was part-funded by Fáilte Ireland.
Finally, Government funding has supported Fáilte Ireland’s ‘Platforms For Growth 2’ programme and 19 best-in-class water-sports facilities will be built across the country to help extend the outdoor tourism season by providing year-round hot showers, changing rooms, toilets, secure storage, induction spaces, and equipment washdown areas. I was delighted to open the first of these new facilities in August in Curracloe, County Wexford.
196. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment which applicants were successful in receiving funding under the strategic tourism festival investment scheme 2026-2028; the amounts granted to each; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67937/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy may be aware, the scheme aims to support tourism festivals that are unique, place-based events that showcase Irelands culture, heritage and natural beauty. The process is still ongoing and will be finalised in due course.
197. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the engagement he has had with an association (details supplied) that seeks to encourage businesses to pass on the planned VAT rate reduction to customers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67969/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra198. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the engagement he has had with an association (details supplied) that seeks to encourage businesses to pass on the planned VAT rate reduction to customers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67970/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra199. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the engagement he has had with an association (details supplied) that seeks to encourage businesses to pass on the planned VAT rate reduction to customers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67971/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 197, 198 and 199 together.
My officials and I regularly engage with a range of stakeholder bodies in preparation for the annual budgetary process. This includes in-person meetings at both an official level and a ministerial level to identify issues of concern for a wide range of stakeholders. Further to this, stakeholders can engage with the Department through written communication. These engagements are considered in preparation for the Department’s engagement with the Department of Finance for the Budget. My Department prepares a written Pre-Budget Submission to the Department of Finance which identify the views of the Department on tax policy.
The Deputy has listed three separate organisations, and I can confirm that there has been engagement between these organisations and my Department regarding the matter of the Hospitality VAT rate in advance of Budget 2026. This communication has taken place either in the form of written communication received by my Department from these organisations, or a personal meeting in some capacity, including as part of engagements with a wider range of stakeholders, or both.
With regards to the specific matter of passing on the planned VAT rate reduction to customers, I think it is first and foremost important to highlight that the change in Budget 2026 was about ensuring viability in these specific sectors. Budget 2026 saw a reduction in the VAT rate applied to food and catering services and hairdressers from 13.5% to 9%, which will be introduced from 1 July 2025.
It is up to each individual business the price they charge and this will be based on factors related to profitability and growth. I am keen to ensure that the viability of the sector is enhanced and that employment in the sector is enhanced also. I would note that while it may be difficult to have viability and affordability together, it remains important that businesses provide value for their customers.
200. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to provide Ireland's full indicator-level scores under the Blavatnik Index of Public Administration for 2024, disaggregated by theme; and to outline which underlying domains contributed most to Ireland's overall ranking. [68043/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe NCPC is currently developing a research bulletin examining the performance of Ireland’s public sector, informed by a new international benchmarking measure: the Blavatnik Index of Public Administration.
The Blavatnik Index applies a newly developed analytical framework drawing on 82 metrics across 17 data sources. As of 2024, Ireland ranks 24th out of 120 countries. The results highlight strong performance in HR Management (4th), Diversity and Inclusion (5th), and Tax Administration (3rd), alongside weaker outcomes in Digital Services (83rd), Procurement (77th), and Technology and Workplaces (108th).
Looking beyond the headline results, however, we can see a more nuanced picture. Many themes lack the necessary data to draw authoritative conclusions. More recent data from other sources – or more recent developments – often show Ireland's performance improving. In its work, the NCPC regularly uses a wide variety of international benchmarks to contextualise Ireland’s performance and support evidence-based policymaking. As the Council notes, such indices can be valuable tools for identifying comparative strengths and vulnerabilities. However, given the developmental nature of the Blavatnik Index, it should be interpreted as a diagnostic tool rather than a definitive scorecard.
I look forward to the forthcoming publication of the NCPC bulletin and to continued engagement with the Council on this critically important issue.
More information on the Blavatnik Index, including access to all scores and rankings, can be found on the relevant website: https://index.bsg.ox.ac.uk/.
201. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the way in which public bodies that are commencing design for new buildings for projects in receipt of exchequer funding in excess of €10 million in the case of non-residential buildings, or in excess of €60 million in the case of residential buildings, should produce or procure a validated Whole Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions assessment from 1 September 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68120/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis government is committed to the public sector leading by example in reducing emissions. To encourage the decarbonisation of the cement and wider construction sector in Ireland, my Department published procurement guidance for public bodies last year. This sends a signal to the market that we require a reduction in the embodied carbon of publicly supported construction projects, and in particular the procurement of cement and concrete, for projects commencing design from 1st September 2024.
This guidance requires public bodies to use best practice project design to reduce embodied carbon and procure concretes with lower carbon clinker replacements. Public bodies will also stop procuring high carbon CEM1 cements except where technically essential, and will seek disclosure of the carbon content in the cement and concretes procured.
In addition, as the deputy has referred to, large construction projects, under specific conditions, should now produce a Whole Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions assessment. This came into effect on 1st September 2025 and is a key aspect of this procurement guidance. This advises that projects in receipt of exchequer funding that are commencing design for new buildings, under the thresholds noted, to produce or procure a Whole Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions assessment. This assessment is to be done in accordance with technical guidance provided by the SEAI. It is also consistent with the approach set out under the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
The SEAI has published the first version of their Life-Cycle Global Warming Potential calculation workbook and it is available on their website for use by public bodes and industry more broadly. This draft workbook and methodology will be updated to include product specific data and project specific scenarios in the future. The workbook allows assessors to calculate the Life-Cycle Global Warming Potential for buildings in accordance with the calculation methodology. The assessment is based on carbon factors from Ireland’s National embodied carbon database of building materials and default scenarios. Lifecycle assessment will become common place throughout the construction sector, and is already used by many private developers.
I would urge the wider construction sector, and especially those seeking to deliver public projects, to familiarise themselves and follow the guidance we have published, and to use the SEAI’s methodology and workbook. The guidance for public bodies published on the website of the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, and officials will be happy to answer any queries on its implementation. Similarly, SEAI will be happy to support the use of the published methodology for Life-Cycle Global Warming Potential assessment.
