% VAT rate will give hospitality businesses in Stillorgan and beyond room to breathe – Cllr. Eoin O’Driscoll

9% VAT rate will give hospitality businesses in Stillorgan and beyond room to breathe – Cllr. Eoin O’Driscoll

The restoration of the 9% VAT rate for hospitality is good news for the restaurants, cafés, and local businesses at the heart of our communities across Stillorgan, Dundrum, Cabinteely, and Kilmacud, Cllr. Eoin O’Driscoll has said.

“Running a hospitality business has been genuinely tough in recent years — rising costs, squeezed margins, and a post-pandemic recovery that wasn’t felt evenly. This VAT reduction gives those businesses something concrete: a bit more room to invest, to hold onto staff, and to keep their doors open.

“The numbers matter here. There are around 186,000 people employed in accommodation and food services nationally, and three quarters of those businesses employ fewer than ten people. These aren’t faceless corporations — they’re family-run operations, often built across generations, that are woven into community life.

“Work in hospitality isn’t just an economic transaction. It’s how people provide for their families, build skills, and contribute to something larger than themselves. Policy should support that — and this measure does.

“When I walk through Stillorgan village, or down the main street in Dundrum, or past the local cafés in Cabinteely, I see people who have worked incredibly hard and taken real risks to build something. They deserve policy that recognises that effort and gives them the conditions to flourish.

“A lower VAT rate won’t solve every challenge facing the sector, but it’s a meaningful step — and one Fine Gael has pushed for. I’m glad to see it happen.”

ENDS