Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We have thrashed through a lot of the issues. I agree very much with my colleagues. I especially agree with what Deputy O'Sullivan had to say. I am looking at it from the perspective of a Border county and the Border region. I am thinking of Cavan and Monaghan which are not west Cork. The hotels, hoteliers, restaurants and pubs would give their right arms to have the problem that exists in Dublin. I concur with my colleagues that it really is not good enough to say the political perspective or the public commentary in this has been hugely negative with regard to the vastly expensive small number of rooms that are left. The point people are trying to make is that this small number of rooms is available but they are at a rate beyond most people's reach and they are not at the same rate as other rooms sold for the same night. This is what is upsetting people the most.

Mr. Kelly is so right that Dublin is the gateway to the rest of the country. If people cannot get into the country and have nowhere to stay, they will not come. This will have a huge effect regionally and throughout the country. I take Mr. Kelly's point. He is the one person who has come here today with very tangible solutions. We should be focused on solutions. I thank him for his contribution, particularly his interaction with Senator Byrne on the supply issue.

Mr. Kelly is also correct regarding car rental. We heard about this weeks ago and the problem still persists which is very disappointing to hear. If people have cars they can stay longer and they can go further afield to counties such as Cavan and Monaghan and beyond. What are Mr. Kelly's thoughts on this?

Will Goodbody had an interesting piece on RTÉ last night. He spoke to some tourists on the streets of Dublin who were coming out of the Guinness Storehouse. He spoke to people from the US who had resorted to staying in an Airbnb because they could not find an affordable hotel in Dublin city centre. Where is the incentive for them to come to the country in the first place or go beyond it? We could argue there is a big incentive to get out of Dublin very quickly because people will get value from money beyond it. I want to give Mr. Kelly an opportunity to expand on this idea. The impact it is having is catastrophic throughout the country. People cannot get into Dublin to stay overnight on the first day of a holiday or for the first couple of nights. Everybody wants to visit the capital city of a small island. Let us be honest, we are a small island. We are not the United States of America. We want people to come to the country.