Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I did not get to hear the presentation because, unfortunately, I was called away for a meeting. I join with my colleagues in congratulating Tourism Ireland on the fantastic work it does. It is only when one takes a drive around the country that one can see the various attractions that are there. It is fantastic.

On the costs of hotels, in 2012 I was caught on the western side of Ireland with no hotel booked. I picked up the phone and started with one of the premier hotels. The receptionist said that they had a room. I asked how much it was and I was told that it was €35. I said "Sorry?" and she said "It is €35". I booked it straight away. Recently I was in the same part of the world and caught in exactly the same way. I called a number of different hotels and I finished up with one of the lesser hotels, shall we say. It was €235 for the night. It is impossible to see how that sort of money is justifiable. To my mind it is wrong in every sense of the word. It is destroying a lot of the good work being done by Tourism Ireland.

Wages have not gone up by an amount commensurate with the increase in the cost of a room for the night. Insurance and many other costs have risen but the core wage has not. That may be damaging Tourism Ireland.

We spend a lot of time persuading people from other countries to visit Ireland. I have met a significant number of people, particularly in the south of Ireland, who have never visited places such as Rathlin Island. I will never forget the beautiful drive to Cushendall. We need to give more consideration to staycations so that Irish people holiday in this beautiful country and visit places such as Rathlin Island or County Down. Anything that could be done to improve that would be welcome.

The Tidy Towns competition has done a fantastic job of making Ireland a really beautiful place but, goddamn it to hell, when one drives into some parts of Ireland all one sees are boarded-up retail outlets. There is a lack of any semblance of life and all one can see is the death of a town or village. We should find a way to incentivise people to keep facades looking lively and respectable and villages looking like somewhere we would want to visit.

That said, Tourism Ireland does a fantastic job. I apologise for missing Mr. Gibbons's opening remarks.