Mr. Shaun Quinn:

I will follow up on Mr. Gibbons' comments. There were a few comments and questions about Brexit, on which the issue is the degree to which we are exposed to the British market. The diversification strategy in play for some years was about reducing the level of that exposure and, if anything, we were ahead of the game, collectively, in the industry in that we were not caught off the hook. This year we will receive 3.5 million visitors from Britain, but we will also receive 3 million from elsewhere in the European Union. Therefore, much progress has been made at a time when, collectively, budgets are down 50% on what they were. Our job is to look at the product and what we have to offer in working with businesses on the ground. Our contribution to the strategy has been the experience brands, what we call the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland's Ancient East and the Dublin Brand. I hope we will also have a lakelands brand. When one enters a market in which one is not well known, promoting Wicklow or Westport on its own will not do it as the county jersey does not mean anything internationally. One needs projects of scale that resonate with the market. That is what has happened in the case of the successful Wild Atlantic Way and, to a lesser extent, Ireland's Ancient East. The Wild Atlantic Way initiative was introduced two or three years before Ireland's Ancient East. I fully understand Deputy Imelda Munster's point that some local areas are not benefiting, particularly in the east and the south, but the story in the west because of the Wild Atlantic Way is completely different. We are at the early embryonic stage, but what we are doing is on the right track. The Wild Atlantic Way runs along the west coast; it is a Gaelic Ireland proposition. That is why it does not extend along the south or to the North. Tourism Northern Ireland is in the process of completing a strategy for Northern Ireland and we will be talking to see if there are areas in which we can co-operate in the marketplace in a meaningful way. My colleague, Mr. Keeley, will deal with some of the points raised.

There are mixed views on Airbnb, but it is meeting a need in a growing segment of the marketplace. We must recognise that certain consumers want to avail of that product, which is fine.

We have signed a strategic partnership agreement with the OPW with which we have a really great relationship. We are making headway at a number of sites, principally in the east and south, but we hope to make progress across the board. I assure Senator Frank Feighan that we are receiving great co-operation in that regard.

Deputy Kevin O'Keeffe mentioned tourism marketing by local authorities. If it is local, that is fine, but, as I said, the county jersey means nothing internationally. It is the experience brands in Ireland that resonate. I do not think we are seeing wasteful investment in that regard.

Deputy Robert Troy made a number of points, as did Deputy Imelda Munster, about the capital grants scheme. We have a track record of being efficient in processing capital grant applications. We run a competitive grants process. I cannot comment, however, on any individual grant application. If there is a delay in processing, it is purely due to the sheer numbers of applications submitted. We received a much higher volume that we had anticipated, but we intend to make the first allocation under the scheme before Christmas.

Let me confirm clearly that there has been no abdication of responsibility on our part in the training of chefs. We invest about €4 million a year across ten institutes of technology, fuelling upwards of 500 chefs per annum. In addition, we are working with the Irish Hotels Federation and others in developing a new apprenticeship scheme through SOLAS. That is the new model through which we believe we will be able to increase turnover. I am aware of the shortages in some parts of the tourism industry, most notably the restaurant sector, in which apparently there seems to be an unusually high turnover of staff.

The expert skills group which concluded an analysis on this clearly showed a turnover issue in some sectors. From my point of view, as a public servant with responsibility for investing taxpayers' money, rather than investing more money in training for people to leave we must improve retention rates. There is no abdication, in fact we are fully committed to it. Perhaps Mr. Keeley will speak about the lakelands and winter tourism seasonality.