AROUND 93 PER cent of restaurants in the industry’s main association have passed on the reduction in VAT whilst nearly 500 jobs have been created since the abolition of the Joint Labour Committee (JLC) Employment Regulation Order (ERO) according to a new survey.

The Restaurants Association of Ireland reports that 61.5 per cent of its members have taken on new staff in the last two months.

It follows the abolition of the Joint Labour Committee ERO – which regulated conditions of employment and set minimum rates of pay for employees – after a High Court ruling that it was unconstitutional.

In total, the industry’s representative body said that 490 jobs had been created with 270 jobs in individual restaurants established as well as 150 jobs in McDonald’s and 70 in Eddie Rockets.

Over 60 per cent said the abolition of the ERO was a factor in hiring staff.

A survey of 148 restaurants also found that 93.9 per cent of them have passed on the VAT reduction to customers.

Over half report a fall in turnover of 6.7 per cent in the past eight months compared to 2010. However, 44.8 per cent have seen their business increase in turnover in the last eight months compared to 2010.

The top two issues effecting restaurants were wages costs (81.8 per cent) and local authority charges (60.1 per cent).

Restaurants Association of Ireland CEO Adrian Cummins urged against government proposals to re-establish JLC’s in the autumn, citing the 92.5 per cent of restaurants surveyed who said it would effect the employment potential of their business.

He added:

Any attempts to re-establish these anti-business , anti-employer and anti-job creation mechanisms with grind the recovery to the hospitality sector.

The Irish restaurant industry employs 64,000 people in Ireland, creating one in four tourism jobs in the country, and contributes €2 billion to the Irish economy each year, according to the association.