The owner of Inchydoney Island Lodge and Spa in west Cork, Des O’Dowd, said Government policy over the past number of years had made Ireland 'a very expensive place to live and holiday'.has a “complete lack of understanding of how business works” and is turning Ireland into another Switzerland in terms of prices.
“There hasn’t been a hotel bedroom built in west Cork in 20 years and it’s difficult to see that changing,” he said. He dismissed recent Fine Gael proposals to allow the hospitality sector to pay a reduced rate of VAT on energy to ease the pressure on cafes and restaurants in the face of mounting business closures.
“VAT is paid by the final consumer. As a business, I collect VAT on behalf of the government, but it is the consumer who pays it,” he said. The Department of Finance declined to comment but insisted the VAT rate for hospitality here was not out of kilter with other European jurisdictions.