Mr. Michael Cawley:

I agree with the Senator on the co-ordination of a number of agencies. Fáilte Ireland has always and continues to carry out constant research on customers. With Tourism Ireland approximately four or five years ago we co-sponsored some major research work which we are constantly updating. It tells us what domestic and overseas customers want. We do not necessarily need to control funds locally, but we would like to advise people on spending, whether it is under the LEADER programme or by some other organisation. Money can be misspent and have a detrimental, rather than a motivating, impact. One of the good news stories on that front relates to the Department of Rural and Community Development under the Minister, Deputy Ring. We have been embedded in it to advise the Department on the importance of tourism to the regions, to which the Minister is completely wedded. He was previously a Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport under two Ministers and is personally very interested in the development of tourism. I had a meeting with him on the issue this morning. We are, therefore, central to how the Department disposes of its funds, the policy it applies and the emphasis of spending. We leverage the large amount of funding of the Department, which is a multiple of the funding available to us. We are designing the approach specifically to have the best impact in the regions. Therefore, I agree with the Senator on the need for co-ordination and to have myriad agencies brought together with one focus. Let them support individual projects and get the credit for it, but let us also pull in the same direction.

The Senator is absolutely right on the question of SMEs. A lot of tourism businesses, in particular, activity centres, are run by people whose hobbies, in essence, got out of hand and developed into businesses. Their enthusiasm for their customers is infectious and their expertise, important. The major decision for these businesses is employing the next person. It is a major decision. Thankfully, many of them are successful and grow to having five, ten and 20 employees. However, they do not have the range of expertise they require across marketing, revenue management, finance and communications, including in the area of social media. One bad rating can kill a business. Therefore, we teach them how to respond to TripAdvisor and Booking.comratings and support them in other ways. More than 25,000 people attended Fáilte Ireland-sponsored courses this year, including courses on revenue management and customer greeting. We train tourism guides and provide for certification and so on. They are very important in the added value they provide for customers and the expertise they can imbed in their own businesses to make a profit. Many of them are fantastic at generating revenue and providing good customer experiences, but if they do not control their costs and are surprised by unexpected expenses, the business will fail.

The major challenge for us is wedded to the issue of regionality. It is to extend the season and have regional dispersion. I agree that it should not be at the expense of Dublin. Members might have seen on the news recently the spectacular development of the casino in Marino. There are parts of Dublin which need to be developed too, particularly on the north side. The concentration of business in the city centre is also a problem for Dublin. The DART offers us a fantastic opportunity to get people to Howth and Greystones, for example, as well as to towns such as Balbriggan, Skerries and so on. The development in Marino which is spectacular and has been assisted with Fáilte Ireland funding, in conjunction with the OPW, is something I commend to members.

It is our attempt, even within Dublin, to regionalise out from the centre. In the country as a whole, the Senator is correct that given the percentage of SME involvement in the tourism industry in County Kerry and elsewhere in the country is a risk in the context of any prospective downturn. We hope there will not be a downturn in tourism. This should concentrate our minds on ensuring this business and sector are properly funded and resourced, not necessarily only with money but also from an expertise point of view. We should support those SMEs which, as I said, do not have the expertise to run every element of their business.

Regional access, as the Senator pointed out, is a critical ingredient of success. Before the Senator arrived, we were discussing a review the Department is carrying out on regional airports, specifically Kerry, Knock, Waterford and possibly Derry airports. These airports must be supported and their performance must not be judged solely on their own profit and loss account. The capital expenditure that airports like Knock require to meet safety regulations, as is absolutely right-----