LATEST DUBLIN CITY NEWS

• “Proposed changes to retail guidelines will cost jobs, compromise main streets and cause more dereliction - An Taisce”

  03-01-2012

  Jobs will be lost and main streets will suffer if Forfas gets its way on Retail Planning  according to a recent An Taisce  Press Release

• Rejuvenating Dublin's Tourism Product

  23-12-2011

  Dublin City Business Association commissioned Jerome Casey and Felim O’Rourke to undertake a study of tourism in Dublin and to make least-cost recommendations for its rejuvenation. The World Tourism Organisation concluded (in relation to Ireland) that "there appears to be very little correlation between marketing spending by National Tourism Organisations and international arrivals". 
  

  Within Ireland, there is a mismatch between the Irish tourism market and the public resources devoted to it. 

  33 existing tourist attractions in Dublin were reviewed, and low-cost initiatives suggested for their improvement.

  From 2000 – 2010 Ireland’s share of world tourism visitors has fallen sharply. In 2004, Ireland changed from being a destination country for incoming tourists to an origin country for Irish, outgoing tourists.

  Dublin must move from passive approval of tourist activities to an active development of tourism as a priority industry in regenerating the city’s economy. 

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

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Government Public Bodies will have to pay VAT says EU

Wednesday the 2nd of August 2006

The EU Commission has given Ireland two months to ensure VAT is paid by all public bodies. They say that government departments and local authorities should be treated as taxable persons where doing otherwise would result in significant distortion of competition. This is good news for the private sector who have been at a disadvantage as their public body competitors often charged the public the same price including VAT but did not pass it on to the Revenue thus creating a higher margin than a real competitive market would tolerate.
This ruling will create a true discipline of market forces in state bodies. Assertions that the EU decision will raise prices are fatuous as the private operators competing against public bodies are more likely to give more cost effective service to the consumer.