Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Coincidentally I wanted to take Mr. Gibbons up on that point as well, because I was taken aback by the drop in UK visitors here. I said straight away to myself in my head that it was the effect of the sterling-euro rates. He carried on to state, however, that the number of UK citizens travelling to the EU had not changed but that involves the same exchange rate. I would like to hear the answer on that one.

With the Brexit scenario, could there be a silver lining? If we manage to negotiate and maintain our common travel area but it is more difficult for UK citizens to travel to the Continent, could that potentially open up a bigger market for us due to the ease of access? Have we any plans in place to sell along those lines depending on the outcome of the negotiations? Has there been any thought been put into that? Are there other worldwide options that we should be exploring? We would be the only English speaking area in the EU etc. Could there be potential here down the line?

I compliment Mr. Gibbons on the figures he has given over the years. Thanks to the great work of Tourism Ireland, tourism in Ireland is a real success story. It is a success story to date. I know there is the little blip that is Brexit in every sector. As the Chairman pointed out earlier, this is our 38th or 39th hour here interviewing and meeting people from all the different sectors. There are no, or not many, positives in any sector or area. Tourism will be no different. Can we turn it around to a positive? At the end of the day that is the question I am asking.