Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)

Like Deputy Wall, I have major concerns about marketing the eastern region together with Dublin. Given the Minister has agreed to disagree on that matter, I wish to place more emphasis on the midlands, an area of lakes, plains, rivers, mountains and bogs, which comes last in terms of tourism revenue and promotion even though it is one of the last remaining unspoilt regions in the country. All of a sudden the midlands have been swallowed into nothingness. In this context, how does the Minister plan to promote the midlands as opposed to the coastal region, if the midlands per se are not to be promoted?

Internationally it might make sense to spend €1 million changing the website and having nice glossy leaflets printed focusing on the southern region and referring to Wexford, Waterford, Cork and Kerry. While it might be acceptable for an American flying into Shannon Airport to think Gorey and Cahirciveen are twinned in some kind of cultural heritage, what about Irish people who remain a significant part of the tourism market? Will there be separate marketing of regions for Irish people or will we need to put up with the globalised system that throws in Wexford with Kerry, when as every Dub who goes to Courtown knows, there is a big difference between that area and Cork or Kerry? They should not necessarily be included in the same region.

The Minister mentioned the cash-rich and time-poor visitor. Without a proper public transport infrastructure, how is one supposed to get from Wexford to Kerry in any regional context? Given the location of Shannon Airport, it would make more sense to link Kerry with Limerick and Clare. As no rail network of any substance links the areas, people need to drive and it takes a long time to drive from Wexford town to Tralee. The Minister should ask his colleagues in Government to focus more on the product being delivered.

I had the privilege of going to Tralee for a Green Party national council meeting last Saturday. Owing to various delays, it took five hours to get down and the return journey took four and a half hours. To try to save time for everyone, I asked to be served eight slices of toast. The Irish person behind the counter said: "Get out of it. I'm too busy." He gave me half the amount. I gave him a €50 note and he looked at me. When I asked him what side of the bed he got out of, he said: "What's wrong with you? I'm doing you a favour". Meanwhile the Lithuanian or Latvian person serving from the trolley was the epitome of politeness and courtesy. While much remains to be done in upgrading our network so visitors can get to the regions, much needs to be done in educating and training our staff so the traditional Irish welcome, which is part of what we are, can be maintained. Otherwise we will have nothing to market.

Would the Minister agree that while it is all very well to apply the bells and whistles and introduce new globalised southern and eastern regions, if the core product no longer remains it is not worth a damn?

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