Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)

I thank the Minister for his detailed reply on this matter. It is obvious that the report initiated by Ireland West Tourism has many interesting implications for employment for the west. It highlights the decrease of 21% in the number of people employed in the agriculture sector. How does the Minister envisage that the proposals he has announced will address that loss of employment? Can we examine the potential of agri-tourism, for example, in reversing the obvious decline in farm incomes?

It is vitally important for the west that the Ryder Cup should be broadcast on free-to-air television. Just one in four houses in this country subscribes to Sky television. Given that a great deal of tourism promotion will take place at all the Ryder Cup qualifying events, as the Minister has said, he should use all his powers to encourage his ministerial colleague, Deputy Noel Dempsey, to take a positive decision to ensure that free-to-air facilities are made available for the Ryder Cup. If we do not provide for such facilities, we will be shooting ourselves in the foot in our attempts to encourage people to come to Ireland to play golf. There are some smashing golf courses in the west. If live coverage of the Ryder Cup is confined to Sky television, many of the tourists who come to Ireland next September without tickets for that event will be unable to watch it on television.

Can the Minister outline the current position in respect of the Shannon stopover, particularly as it relates to the west as a whole? I have asked the Minister about the smaller airports in the west, such as Galway Airport and Sligo Airport, on many occasions. What can we do to try to ensure that such airports are successful? I am aware that Aer Arann uses the facilities in question to increase the number of flights into the west. Can anything else be done to ensure the west attracts the maximum proportion of those who come to Ireland, especially from the UK, for shorter periods, such as weekends? What aspects of the airports should be developed to attract such tourists to places like Galway, Castlebar and Westport in the same way as they are attracted to Dublin? I do not think the extra costs would have much of an effect on people who like to take short weekend breaks.

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