Mr. Joe Dolan:

I thank the Chairman and members for the opportunity to speak to the committee. Without repeating all of what has been said, Ireland is doing very well in terms of numbers, revenue and so on but the growth in tourism has been inequitable. It is inequitable in terms of when people are coming and where they are going.

Regionality and seasonality are major issues. I own and operate a mid-range and mid-size hotel employing 60 people in County Leitrim. I am well positioned to comment on this. I will use a few different headings that were mentioned already to illustrate that inequitable distribution. I would not be still in business if VAT was not realigned with my competitors in Europe. I do not think the 9% VAT rate is a reduction; it is a realisation of what is a realistic rate of VAT. In terms of Brexit, as I am located quite close to the Border, what people do not realise is that the British market, while not the highest yielding market in terms of revenue, is our closest, largest market and is most accessible. It responds rapidly in marketing terms but what is most important in a regional context is that the British visitor has the widest, deepest penetration into rural Ireland in terms of the far-reaching rural parishes and during off-peak times of the year. We can never lose sight of that. The more regional and rural one is, the higher the dependency one has on the British market and on tourism in general. Believe it or not, tourism in rural Ireland is more important in non-traditional places than it is in Kerry because it is the only show in town. Personal incomes from tourism is relatively higher in Boyle, Ballaghaderreen and Mullingar than it would be in Killarney because it is the only show in town.

There is a temporary pinch in capacity in Dublin at present, there is insufficient capacity but Dublin's difficulty is Ireland's opportunity. There are people coming to rural Ireland who would not otherwise be there. It is not all gloom. It is a temporary inconvenience that will work itself out in a couple of years in any event. That is assuming there are no major catastrophes internationally, which appear to be happening with increasing frequency and enormity in recent years.

The lakelands programme is a significant marketing programme for rural areas. It is the fourth brand proposition that has come into the markets. That covers off everything. Tourists are not interested in parochial or county boundaries.

Government has served us very well and we look forward to the continuing partnership. Tourism is the most efficient growth engine for economic development and employment generation, but it is also the most fragile so we must respect it as well. I see the argument that we have done so well with limited marketing resources but the analogy is that if one is running on an empty tank, when the tank empties, it grinds to a halt. We must not be complacent. We must keep our foot on the pedal.