John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)

These are the indications. We carried out a survey before the introduction of the smoking ban in the American market, to find that it is a positive feature. As regards the question of competitiveness, I have outlined my position. Offering value for money to visitors is an issue. To be fair, the industry is responding well to the challenge.

Surveys are carried out on a regular basis by Fáilte Ireland. They are presented and I am rather taken aback that Deputy Finian McGrath should be surprised that 97% of visitors would recommend a holiday in Ireland to a friend. It does not surprise me in the slightest, having been in other countries.

As regards signposting, that is obviously a matter for the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. A highly ambitious programme was embarked upon in many counties. In County Kerry, at least, an excellent job was done in conjunction with Kerry County Council.

Of course there is cohesion between Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland. Very often, for example, as regards the sports initiative, Tourism Ireland on the international stage is the agent for Fáilte Ireland. Fáilte Ireland's role is necessarily restricted as a result of the establishment of Tourism Ireland which has responsibility for marketing the whole island of Ireland on the international stage and is doing so with a tremendous degree of success.

Visitor numbers are up overall. We certainly are at record levels. Visitor satisfaction levels are high, but surveys show there is an issue in particular as regards pricing when it comes to eating out, and also the price of drink. This affects Irish holidaymakers as well as visitors from abroad and everybody has to be extremely conscious of it. In the 2004 overseas visitor attitude survey, although satisfaction with overall value for money had not deteriorated further — it had levelled out — value for money was still the most critically rated aspect of the Irish holiday experience. I have no doubt about that.

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