AN ESTIMATED 15,000 unapproved B&Bs and self-catering units are causing major problems for the tourism sector, the Oireachtas Committee on Tourism heard yesterday.
Helena Healy chief executive, B&B Ireland, a representative body for registered B&Bs, said there were up to 5,000 unapproved B&Bs and they had the potential to damage the international reputation of the Irish B&B.
Anyone could open a B&B without being approved or registered, she said. These operators were benefiting from the work being done to promote the sector while making no contribution to it.
The Irish Self-Catering Federation said there were at least 10,000 unapproved self-catering houses and apartments in the State. Its chairman John O’Connell said the cost base of unapproved self-catering units was lower because they were not paying fees towards marketing and the maintenance of standards or paying local authority water charges.
“Unrealistic prices are being offered and this has also had a knock-on effect on revenues for our sector,” he said.
Fianna Fáil Senator Paschal Mooney said the collection of the €200 second home charge had been very successful and asked if a similar mechanism could be used to encourage all unapproved tourism accommodation to seek approval.
Mr O’Connell also criticised the lack of working capital credit for self-catering businesses from banks. “There appears to be a general policy among the main banks that tourism-related businesses are not worth supporting,” he said.
He also highlighted the anomaly whereby hotels only required one television licence, irrespective of the number of bedrooms, yet self-catering operators had to provide a licence for every unit.
Labour TD Mary Upton said this seemed like “a pretty unfair burden” and committee chairman Tom Kitt said the committee would support a change to this regulation.
Mr O’Connell said self-catering operators had a “disastrous” year outside the peak summer season.
Self-catering units in traditional holiday destinations fared well in June, July and August, but holiday homes located near “yet another new hotel development” suffered, despite offering very low prices.
He said the oversupply of hotels and self-catering units was causing major problems for the sector.
Ms Healy said the oversupply of hotel beds was having a grave effect on the B&B sector and had driven the rate down by 15-25 per cent over the last two years.
Asked by Fine Gael’s Jimmy Deenihan about the age profile of BB owners, she said a high proportion were in their late 50s, early 60s and even 70s.
BB Ireland’s Vincent Gorman warned against the proposed introduction of commercial rates for B&Bs and said it would result in the closure of a significant number of properties.
The proposal to bring B&B, guesthouse and self-catering accommodation within the commercial rate base was made in last year’s Commission on Taxation report.
