Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 April 2026
150. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if his Department is giving consideration to the introduction of a hotel bedroom charge, to be levied by local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30518/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra170. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if his Department has assessed the potential revenue from a hotel bedroom charge; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30519/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra177. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if he and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage have considered the introduction of a visitor accommodation levy/hotel bed tax or similar levies for the Dublin area for the generation of additional revenue to support our growing tourism sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26487/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra190. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if his Department is giving consideration to a change to the tax code to allow local authorities to levy a hotel bedroom tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28777/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra203. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if he and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage have considered the introduction of a visitor accommodation levy, hotel bed tax or similar levies, nationally for the generation of additional revenue to support the growing tourism sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26486/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 150, 170, 177, 190 and 203 together.
The introduction of a visitor accommodation levy was proposed in Capital City, the report of the Dublin City Taskforce published in October 2024, specifically for Dublin City, as part of the funding mechanism to support the implementation of actions in the Report.
The Programme for Government commits to implementing the Dublin City Taskforce recommendations and to apply the taskforce model to other cities, towns and regions in need of revitalisation.
The Interdepartmental Group (IDG) on the Dublin City Taskforce Report which is led by the Department of the Taoiseach published its report and accompanying roadmap in June 2025 and these provide a course of action to implement the Taskforce’s recommendations.
The introduction of a levy needs careful consideration, given the importance of inbound international tourism to Ireland's economy, regionally and nationally. Any visitor accommodation levy would have to take account of many issues, including who will be liable to pay it; for example, whether its application would be limited to international visitors or extended to all visitors, including domestic visitors and how the levy would be collected. The geographic scope, business sustainability and revenue potential of such a measure are also issues for consideration.
Last year, research commissioned by Fáilte Ireland on existing tourist levies/taxes on tourist accommodation within Europe and the United Kingdom, revealed a variety of approaches taken in implementing such charges, with the most predominant model being the per person per night model. Revenues are used for a variety of purposes including dedicated tourism development funding, improvements to infrastructure and services, environment protection and general funding for local government.
The calculation of the charge varies across the systems examined under the research, with different approaches common for per-room/per-person systems, and percentage-based systems. The sample destinations examined in the research found that when expressed in terms of euro per bednight, the scale of tourist tax raised ranges widely from €0.20 to +€15 per bednight. Exact figures on the revenue raised from these charges in the research sample cities is sparse, but the research cited media reports along with local and national Government communications to suggest indicative 2023 revenue of €33m for Prague, €133m for Paris, €165m for Amsterdam and 2024 revenue of €115m for Barcelona and €180m for Rome.
The study also found that tourist levies/taxes are localised, with implementation and operation reflecting structures and the desire of authorities, locally or nationally as appropriate, to shape the charge to reflect their own communities and preferences.
An Oversight Board led by the Department of the Taoiseach, with broad representation from across Government, including the Local Authority, Dublin City Council and agencies such as Fáilte Ireland was established to oversee implementation of the roadmap and associated actions. The Board established a financing subgroup to consider, and report back on, a number of funding mechanisms, including a visitor accommodation levy, to support the implementation of the actions arising from the Dublin City Taskforce Report. I understand that both the Oversight Board and the financing subgroup have met on a number of occasions throughout 2025 and in to 2026.
To date, a proposal for an accommodation levy has not been finalised or agreed. If such a proposal is agreed, it will be presented to Government for consideration and if approved by Government, actions including a stakeholder engagement campaign would be required in advance of any implementation.
