Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for his reply. There is no doubt that in recent years we have seen increases, year on year, in the number of tourists coming to this country. There will be a significant curtailment this year, but to what level we will have to wait and see.

I wish to ask the Minister about the regional element of tourism because the difficulty is that my part of the country, namely the midlands, has been ignored when it comes to tourists. There is probably a greater opportunity to see a dodo than there is to see a tourist in the area, unless he or she happens to be passing through. Are there any plans to re-examine the situation whereby the River Shannon is being used as a barrier to tourism development rather than an asset with a region built around it? With regard to the clustering of attractions, will we see a repeat of what has happened in the past, whereby investment goes to the seaboard counties? We need investment in the midlands, where there has been a lack of tourism development.

What element of funding will be put in place for signposting, which is consistently raised by tourists as being hugely problematic, particularly in the midland counties where there has not been any significant investment? The one tourism asset in the midlands region is angling but it has only been given lip service in the current national development plan. In the previous national development plan, €21 million was committed to angling but was not spent on the sector. Can the Minister give any assurance that specific investment will be made to develop angling projects in the counties that have the least developed tourism sectors?

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