Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

One of the benefits of our current position is that we engage in serious business planning. It is difficult to answer the Deputy's question in that I have not got the business plan. However, Dublin Airport Authority has made is absolutely clear that, in the business planning process, all the issues concerning the subsidiaries of the authority, which formerly existed in the guise of Aer Rianta, must be dealt with. I am waiting to see what these issues are. The chairman has enunciated fairly some of the issues that must be grappled with.

Having considered the tourism market and the history of the Great Southern Hotels and the contribution they have made, I know of no reason the hotels could not and should not be very profitable. The hotel business is largely profitable. There are issues for management and staff in the Great Southern Hotels group to reconcile. If this reconciliation is achieved, it will help to return the hotels to profitability. The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism and I have discussed this issue informally and I share his views.

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