The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) welcomes today’s announcement by the Government of a reduction in VAT for food services as part of Budget 2026.
IHF President Michael Magner says:
“The lower 9% VAT rate is a crucial intervention for struggling food service businesses the length and breadth of the country at a time of enormous challenges and unsustainable increases in operating costs.”
“This measure goes a long way toward putting Irish tourism on a more stable footing, aligning Ireland’s VAT rate for hospitality food services with the majority of our European competitors. This is essential given the significant social and economic contribution our industry makes, supporting over 270,000 livelihoods. More than 70% of these roles are outside Dublin, making our industry a key driver of regional employment, economic diversification and rural development.”
“Given the ongoing challenges facing our sector, including serious cost-competitiveness issues, we are calling for this reduction to be made permanent in order to provide greater long-term certainty to those businesses that are heavily reliant on food services.”
“The 9% VAT rate is a crucial measure that will go a long way toward assisting struggling food service businesses the length and breadth of the country,” IHF President Michael Magner
Mr Magner also welcomed the additional allocations in Budget 2026 for Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland. He says:
“This increased funding for both State agencies reflects the vital role they play in developing and expanding our tourism product and market reach in what is an exceptionally competitive global environment. It will ensure that we are well placed to build on the great work done to date promoting Ireland as an attractive tourist destination.”
