Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 68 and 95 together.

The National Development Plan 2007-2013 includes the largest ever Government investment programme for development of Irish tourism, providing €800 million in investment for the following: an international marketing sub-programme of €335 million to promote the island of Ireland in key international markets; a product development and infrastructure sub-programme of €317 million to upgrade and supplement tourism attractions and activities around the country and to deliver the national conference centre in Dublin; and a training and human resource development sub-programme of €148 million for education and training, and improving management capability.

The NDP investment is planned within the strategic policy framework in New Horizons for Irish Tourism: An Agenda for Action, the 2003 report of the tourism policy review group. This set ambitious targets for the period 2003 to 2012 of doubling overseas tourism revenue to €6 billion and increasing visitor numbers from 6 million in 2002 to 10 million in 2012.

The tourism strategy implementation group was set up in 2006 for a two-year period to follow up on the recommendations of New Horizons, to review the targets in light of performance to 2006 and to recommend a possible framework for a mid-term review in 2008. I recently received the report of the group and I will bring it to the attention of my Government colleagues shortly. It is my intention to publish the report and to put in place arrangements for the mid-term review as soon as possible thereafter.

The NDP provides a financial framework within which Departments and agencies can plan and deliver the implementation of public investment. The Government remains firmly committed to the progressive delivery of the investment priorities to be financed under the NDP, which will be subject to a comprehensive mid-term review in 2010. In the meantime, priorities for Exchequer investment will be considered in the annual Estimates process in the normal way. In line with the NDP, in 2008 the Government increased the tourism services budget by 10% compared with the outturn in 2007, bringing the allocation to almost €170 million, the largest ever Exchequer budget for Irish tourism.

There is no doubt that 2008 will be very challenging for Irish tourism in the context of global economic uncertainty and pressure on consumer confidence in key markets. I believe the strategic approach taken to tourism in recent years by the public and private sectors has given the sector the capacity to withstand such cyclical external challenges and to sustain its performance in the coming years.

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