Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is okay. The Chair has whittled down some of the questions I was going to ask. One involves technology. I welcome Mr. O'Mara Walsh and Mr. Pratt. The 8.9 million tourists coming into the country spend €4.9 billion. More importantly, there are almost 250,000 people employed. I return to promotion. I spent many years in local government. I was a committed councillor. Our council's priorities were roads, housing and other services such as wastewater etc. Now, one of Cork County Council's most important pillars is the tourism strategic policy committee, SPC. It has been working well.

Is the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation happy with the way the local authorities work their structures and the promotion of tourism? Is it happy with the delivery? I refer to a whole county spread. Are they working well enough to interconnect with other local authorities? We saw the recent launch of Fáilte Ireland's "Ireland's Hidden Heartlands" and the "Ancient East". They are all intercounty. Could local authorities perhaps work better with one another across counties to deliver these tourism initiatives?

The 9% VAT rate was also mentioned. It will be a big talking point again come the autumn. Everybody acknowledges that Dublin is booming. Hotel beds are at a premium there. I refer to my experience regarding regional taxes in other countries that have a bigger footfall. In respect of hotel bed occupancy, if one were in Limerick, one might pay a lower rate of Government tax than one would pay in the city of Dublin.

To come back to the spending tourist, I am worried about why we are giving these attractive tax rebates and concessions? Prices are still high. Where is the advantage to the consumer? The industry has surely overcome the recession and the financial crisis. The Irish Tourism Industry Confederation has 56 policy recommendations as a strategy for growth in the industry. The witness touched on one in respect of Fáilte Ireland. What are the other two or three priority polices from those 56 recommendations?