John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)

Last year was the best in the history of Irish tourism, as 7.7 million people visited the country and generated almost €4.5 billion in revenue. It was an extraordinary performance and is indicative of the resilience of the tourism industry. I anticipate that we will exceed those figures this year, surpassing the 8 million visitor mark for the first time.

This is a small island on Europe's periphery and visitors arriving in such numbers will benefit every part of it. Last year, there was a substantial increase on the previous year in the number of visitors to the western seaboard. I forecast another substantial increase this year. It is not true to say last year was a poor tourism season.

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