Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In fairness, that would be a very good return. I understand that we are on course to break all records from a tourism point of view. It is fantastic. It is clear to me, as someone who comes from a tourism county, that large numbers of tourists have been in the country this year. That is really encouraging in counties like Kerry. I suggest we can try to make this more sustainable by spreading it into the winter months as much as we can. Unfortunately, people are traditionally laid off during the winter because of the seasonal nature of tourism. It is something we could be cognisant of in future. We could put more effort into it. We should try to continue the existing efforts to boost activity in the winter months. We should see if we can do something about this aspect of the matter. I have looked at other countries. I am aware that efforts are being made in this regard already. It seems to be something that has been pushed by Scotland in the last couple of years. The figures have been quite good there as well. We should try to keep this issue on the agenda. I reiterate that it has been a good tourism season. I acknowledge the extent to which Government policy on tourism has shaped results in this industry.