Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish the witnesses a good afternoon and thank them for participating. Mr. Gallagher did not have too far to travel. It is good to have him here. I apologise for being late for the start of the meeting. Wednesday is like musical chairs around the Oireachtas with committees and other sorts of engagement.

I will keep it brief. I have a few observations rather than questions and I am conscious that my colleague, Deputy Cannon, wants to get in. I thank Ms Andrews and her team for the work they did as the tourism recovery task force and for producing the report and the plan. It is critically important that they are here today to speak about the plan and their work and it is crucial that all Members of the Oireachtas familiarise themselves with the plan and the work the team has done. The implementation of the plan should not just be taken on board by this committee but by every Member of these Houses, who should also constantly push it, keep it on the agenda and scrutinise it.

I welcome that the Minister has committed to putting in place the oversight group. It is important that continuous engagement occurs between stakeholders throughout the industry, the Government and our agencies. Communication is important but so is having everyone in the one room, albeit a virtual one. Sometimes months of work can get done in a one-hour meeting when everyone is around the one table. That model is important. It was a most helpful way of doing business when I was in the Department and I cannot overstate how crucial it is that that approach continues.

There is strong potential for domestic tourism in 2021 and so we should focus on that. We are far behind where we thought we would be when the tourism recovery task force was put in place earlier in the year. That is disappointing for everyone. That focus, coupled with a more ambitious testing regime at points of entry to the State, should have been pursued further and at a greater rate earlier in the year. That is key to unlocking the potential for international tourists in the years ahead. The access issues we will face cannot be overstated. The only thing that gives me some hope is that we have seen that getting the right environment in place can create rapid growth in access. Let us take North America, for example. In 2011 we had seven routes to North America. By 2019, at the peak, we had 24 or 25 routes covering the US and Canada. That growth can happen. People in the industry might be forlorn at the moment about the difficulties in access, but routes can be grown. However, it takes the right policies and everybody creating the right environment.

I commend the work of Tourism Ireland in keeping Ireland in the psyche and to the forefront of the mind of the international traveller during this time. Once international travel resumes, it will be incredibly competitive and that is when the expertise, contacts and great experience built up by Tourism Ireland over the years will be needed. It has outstanding teams all over the world and they will be called into action in the time ahead to make a huge difference for this country, as they have done so often in the past. That will be critically important.

Many people in the industry will be watching this meeting or will watch replays of it. This situation is beyond challenging for them and is beyond the worst people could ever have imagined. I have spoken about having enterprises that are robust enough to withstand shock events. I worked in the hotel industry at the time of 9/11, which was one of the ultimate shock events and we had the outbreak of foot and mouth disease just before that. No one could have envisaged this pandemic happening and being of this magnitude. This time will pass too and there will be better days ahead. It is incumbent on all of us to continue to work together to get through this phase and this terrible period for tourism in Ireland and come out the other end. There are brighter days ahead. Mr. Connick is in New Ross, where a wonderful new greenway will be a fantastic international attraction. The same can be said of so many other greenways all over the country and so many other attractions that are there, or are coming on stream. There is a great future for Irish tourism but the work of the recovery task force and its plan will have to be implemented to a T. That is something on which all of us as public representatives will have to put our shoulders to the wheel. I again thank the witnesses for their time today and for all the work they have done.