Tourism body seeks more working permits as staffing issues bite

In its pre-budget submission, Itic said industries including tourism and hospitality will need to find workers to support its post-pandemic recovery.

Restaurants and hotels are among the businesses struggling to find staff to keep up with demand.

Irish tourism business group Itic has called for increased availability of working permits to boost the hospitality sector as Ireland reaches full employment.

In its pre-budget submission, the lobby group said labour-intensive industries including tourism and hospitality will need to find workers from abroad to support its post-pandemic recovery.

“With effective full employment levels, the tourism and hospitality industry is facing an existential challenge, with upward pressure on wages inevitable and the risk of a further deterioration in the already depleted supply of critical skills,” the report said.

Itic welcomed the launch of a review of the Occupational Lists for Employment Permits by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment as some jobs in the sector are ineligible for these permits.

Leisure and sports facilities managers as well as travel agency managers from outside of Ireland are examples of hospitality workers that currently cannot get these permits.

The submission found that post-pandemic employment in tourism has lagged behind the overall economy as staffing levels in Q1 were 3.8% below the same period in 2019, in contrast to total employment in the State increasing by 12.6% in the same time.

Staff shortage

Restaurants and hotels are among the businesses struggling to find staff to keep up with demand as people return to socialising after more than two years of covid-19 restrictions.

The report said the ongoing shortage of chefs continues “to plague the sector”.

“Staffing shortages resulted in considerable stress on meeting demand in 2022 and continues in 2023,” said Itic.

The organisation said that, in some circumstances, staffing issues contributed to businesses closing their doors for good.

One casualty of the chronic staffing shortages was Gotham Cafe restaurant in Stillorgan, Dublin, which closed its doors in January after 13 years in business.

“One unexpected consequence of the pandemic is there are now enormous shortages of skilled hospitality staff worldwide and we have struggled to fully staff the restaurant since March 2020,” it said in a statement.

The company that owned the eatery still operates a sister restaurant in Dublin city centre and Independent Pizza Company restaurant in Drumcondra.

Overall, the Irish hospitality industry continues to recover after being hit with several challenges over the last three years, including prolonged closures to mitigate the spread of covid-19 and soaring inflation.

Most pubs outside the Dublin region have made a full recovery, with their sales matching or exceeding levels before the onset of the pandemic, according to The Vintners’ Federation of Ireland (VFI).

Hotels have also rallied as leading group Dalata, the owner of the Maldron and Clayton Hotels, posted record revenue of €500m last year.

However, challenges such as staffing shortages and soaring energy bills remain for the industry.

In addition to calling for more permits, the Itic urged the government to keep the reduced Vat rate of 9% to further aid the hospitality recovery.