Mr. Niall Gibbons:

I do not have their CVs. They lit up the Opera House with green in 2010, and since then we have gone on to light up some 300 global icons with green around the world for St. Patrick's Day. This is incredible PR for Ireland. No other country in the world does this. There are icons that one would never have thought could go green such as Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square. It shows the affection in which the Irish are held is renowned abroad.

Film tourism is another example of great innovation. Between "Star Wars" and "Game of Thrones", those campaigns have been seen by 250 million people around the globe. We do reach big numbers and we are always open to new ideas if anyone has any.

I agree with the comment on hotel prices, especially in urban areas. It is not only Dublin, there are other places where people have to be careful about the prices that are being charged. I understand that it was a supply and demand issue; very few hotels were built and demand increased a lot. Dublin is not competing with London, Paris or Rome; it is competing with secondary cities such as Barcelona, Amsterdam and Copenhagen. If we get more expensive, as happened ten years ago, it is inevitable that we will see a fall in business. We have to be mindful of this.

With the VAT issue we are more concerned about rural areas in particular and with the restaurant scene where the margins are low and there is a capacity to suffer. This is why regionality and seasonally is going to be a big part of our campaigns for next year.

I agree with the Deputy's point on the islands. A lot of work has been done, with the Skelligs for instance, but there is a balancing act to perform here. I believe that Skellig Michael has had some 14,000 or 15,000 visitors and it probably cannot take any more. We have done work promoting Ireland's islands before. There is also a new ferry in Doolin, which is carrying more-----