Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This year will be a tougher year for tourism but I am confident it will be a good year. We have set some fairly demanding targets for tourism in the coming years which I believe we can meet. On the budgets, the Tourism Ireland budget has been increased by €1 million. I accept that will not keep the agency happy and that it is looking for substantially larger increases, in particular for the market development fund. The tourism industry has been amazingly successful in recent years.

On the Brexit threat, I think we have responded pretty positive to it. The Deputy will be aware of the conference held in Dundalk to specifically address the tourism issue in Border counties. It was attended by more than 100 people, most of whom were local chamber of commerce people from the Deputy's area. It highlighted that there is a great deal of nervousness and anticipation, particularly in the Border areas, about Brexit. The Government and the Department have responded to this in a very positive and energetic way. It is not an easy problem to respond to because we do not yet know the terms of Brexit or the type of border that we will have. We also do not know where the currency is going to be in the next few years, which is obviously going to be a determining factor in terms of what we get from the UK. My Department is preparing for every eventuality and possibility, some of which will never come to pass. As I said, as we do not yet know the terms of Brexit, we have to take all steps. This issue is not being ignored. I have attended many cross-Border meetings on tourism, including in Armagh. It is being energetically addressed, despite not yet knowing what is going to happen. We are considering every possibility, particularly for the Border counties.