Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Okay, I will deal with the aviation programme first. The aviation programme for this year has an allocation of €26 million. The key priority for investment in the programme over the short to medium term is to support the four regional airports, namely Donegal, Knock, Kerry and Waterford. The 2016 allocation to the regional airports programme represents an increase of 5%. As members will know, two weeks ago I announced grant allocations of €2.7 million under the airports programme for Donegal, Knock, Kerry and Waterford. The spend to date has been lower than profiled but the allocation will be fully spent by the end of the year, as has been the pattern to date in this programme.

There is a clear commitment in the programme for Government to provide additional support to the regional airports and I will be pursuing this with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

The sports programme is next. 2016 has been a good year for the funding of sport, with a 40% increase in the programme allocation. The current allocation for Sport Ireland for 2016 is €47 million, representing an increase of €3 million which was allocated to assist the national governing bodies of sport and our high performance athletes. Almost €25 million is being provided for the development of the national sports campus, including completion of phase one of the national indoor arena. Other major components of the programme are listed in the documents submitted to the committee. I do not propose to read through them, given the time constraints. My officials are confident that the sports programme will spend its full allocation this year.

Tourism is the next programme. Exchequer funding is critical to achieving the ambitions set out in the tourism policy document, People, Place and Policy - Growing Tourism to 2025. 2016 has already seen an additional investment of €2 million in key elements of Fáilte Ireland's and Tourism Ireland's programmes, alongside continued capital investment for next year and beyond. This additional funding is being used to enhance supports for the new experience brands of the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland's Ancient East and Dublin: A Breath of Fresh Air, to provide the funding needed for the Rugby World Cup 2023 bid and to increase overseas marketing activities in key destination markets. 2016 is the first year since 2008 in which funding for overseas tourism marketing activity increased. This has provided a welcome injection to our overseas marketing campaigns.

Looking forward to 2017, I am confident that the success of the tourism sector in delivering revenue growth and jobs when other sectors were faltering during the crisis will underpin its position as a vital sector in Ireland's continuing recovery. This means that further investment is required in our overseas marketing efforts which will restore Ireland's share of voice in our key overseas markets, particularly in the context of Brexit. This also means investing in our tourism product, particularly our festivals, events and business tourism. It also means continuing our efforts to build the capacity of tourism businesses. In addition, the programme for Government makes a number of specific commitments on tourism, seeking to set aside €100 million in additional capital funding for a variety of initiatives. I am very keen to ensure that we target this funding where it will deliver the best bang over the lifetime of the Government. Experience brands like the Wild Atlantic Way have been very successful. We need to build on these, get the message and product right and also ensure that we do not overcrowd the market.