Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for his reply and emphasise again the need to put the recommendations of the PWC and Travers reports in place as soon as possible. The Minister will agree there is no major divide between east and west in the area of tourism. The number of people taking pure holiday tourism is at a standstill, the growth rate of which was just 2% last year. These are the people who would typically visit regions such as the Minister's area in Kerry and other rural areas.

Does the Minister agree there is a worrying decline in activity holidays in Ireland? For example, in 1999, 254,000 people came to Ireland to play golf. In 2004, it was just 138,000. In 1999, 326,000 came to Ireland on walking holidays. In 2004, it was just 259,000. The numbers cycling decreased from 16,000 to 6,000 and the numbers angling, which is important for areas such as Kerry and Mayo, decreased from 173,000 to 93,000. Does the Minister agree there is a major problem with the spread of tourism? While the numbers may be increasing, the type of tourist has changed from a typical weekender to business tourism and visiting family and relations. The scenario has changed.

Will the Minister put in place immediately the recommendations of the PricewaterhouseCoopers report and ensure proper resourcing in order that these regions can be marketed? As a Minister from a rural area, will he emphasise the necessity of spreading the tourism spend in 2006?

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