Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On a similar theme, namely, the need to build on what we have achieved thus far and increase our impact through the Global Irish Economic Forum, I have never seen as many tourists as I saw while visiting Prague in recent days. My only similar experience is coming out of Croke Park on the day of an all-Ireland final. The tourists in Prague were moving in waves. For some years, I have been raising the issue of tourism promotion through parliamentary questions. Ireland has a great and rich history and culture, which is of international interest, especially in the United States whose citizens visit this country in numbers. To what extent can we use the Global Irish Economic Forum as a means of advertising our rich history and culture and encouraging people to visit? Some of our archaeological sites date back 5,000 and 6,000 years. People flock to sites throughout Europe that are 2,000 or 3,000 years old. In my constituency, we have an example of a built structure - a round tower - that is more than 1,000 years old and has stood the test of time. It is a great example of what Irish people were able to do with little technology all those years ago, especially was we were not subject to the Gothic and Romanesque influences to which the countries of central Europe were subject, although we subsequently copied them. We should show these great examples of our culture, heritage and architecture to students, young people and visitors. The Gathering and Global Irish Economic Forum are major opportunities to present Ireland in a positive light.