Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive opening comments. He stated that the tourism leadership group will meet again in the coming weeks and that Brexit will feature prominently in the discussions. Can the Minister of State inform the committee of the make-up of this group? What tourism areas will it specifically be targeting? The CSO figures released recently show that although overall visitor numbers to Ireland were up in 2016, visits from the UK fell by 10%. Does the Minister of State believe this is due only to fear of Brexit, or are there other factors at play?

Coming from a Border county which relies heavily on tourism, I know more than most the effects that Brexit might bring. In areas of great natural beauty such as the Cooley region, including Carlingford and the Boyne Valley, tourism plays a major part in the local economy. The Minister of State mentioned that the tourism action plan is committed to seeking to restore the tourism marketing fund. Can he elaborate further on this? He also stated that Fáilte Ireland is working on a number of fronts to assist the development of our tourism industry. I ask the Minister of State to elaborate on this and share what exactly is taking place on the ground. He also stated that Fáilte Ireland is creating a new Brexit response programme which will focus on delivering a capability building programme. What stage is this at? I am amazed that such programmes are only being created at this stage. Surely this should have been done within weeks of the Brexit vote. Plans should be up and running by now.

The Minister of State remarked that 45 of our national sports governing bodies operate on an all-island basis, which is about 70% of the total number of such bodies. I have grave concerns for these bodies as Brexit gets nearer. What does the Minister of State consider to be a viable solution for maintaining their all-island scope? Could he elaborate on the details of his regular meetings with counterparts in Northern Ireland? What tangible action will result from these meetings?

The Minister of State said that he has an effective mechanism in place to monitor the impact of Brexit on the sporting landscape in Ireland. I put it to him that we need to be doing more than just monitoring the situation. We need concrete plans in place to deal with Brexit and its impact on the sporting landscape in Ireland.