Mr. James McGinley:

These cruise companies normally put their itineraries together three or four years in advance. A capital city is very important on an itinerary. Unless the cruise companies can call to Dublin the chances are that they will not follow up with a call in Cobh, Belfast, Killybegs, or any of these places around the country. I believe that, unfortunately, in the years ahead, unless we can get something sorted in the capital city, we will see fewer and fewer calls around the country. The biggest issue in this country is that, unfortunately, the Government does not have a policy on cruising, unlike when we go abroad where cities in Europe are all trying to canvass cruise companies to go into their ports and cities. In Ireland, we are not at the races at all. We do not attend the events. It is especially important at the moment when we hear about difficulties with bed nights and a shortage of hotels for tourists. These people do not need beds or hotels. There are thousands of high-spending individuals who are going to spend lots of money, not just in Dublin but in places like Cobh today where people are travelling far and wide leaving revenue in all the places with attractions. The Government, in partnership with all the stakeholders, must develop a strategy so that Ireland Inc. is at the races when it comes to cruise tourism and that we do not lose out on this very lucrative market.