Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for his reply. The reality in respect of the visitor figures from Europe, which the Minister said are holding up, is that these represent low spend figures and they probably will disappear because all the indications are they are family members of migrant workers coming to Ireland. Those visitors will disappear if the reports we hear about high unemployment among migrant workers are true.

The point I wish to make, about which I believe the Minister and I are in agreement, is that our tourism industry is facing difficult times. Not only is the global tourism market shrinking but in Ireland we have the additional problems of high service charges, high energy costs, high VAT charges and a new pay round to be made. The result is that, for a variety of reasons, profitability per room is now half what it was this time last year.

There is considerable demand from the industry to maintain the amount of money being spent on marketing to ensure that we retain our market share and that we have an industry when all this financial chaos is over. I wish to ask about the plethora of tourism bodies. I am sure they are all doing a good job but, given that we have to examine every penny being spent, is having all these bodies the best way for us to get value for money? Is it the best way to deliver what is absolutely necessary and what everybody wants to deliver? All these bodies are being funded and one wonders if one body is duplicating the work of another.

What exactly is the best way to target the marketing of our industry? There is a need for a major change in the kind of marketing being undertaken. The reality is that we will have to change to tourism that is not so dependent on discretionary spending. If an American family was considering the value of the dollar and the cost of visiting Ireland, that family would say "No" to that idea of coming here. However, an American businessman, a golf player or person attending a conference would be more likely to come to Ireland, and this is a tourism area where we are under-performing.

Therefore, is there a need to change the way we market our industry and the number of bodies, at home and abroad, charged with that task? Is there a way we can get better value for money? Will the Minister ensure the marketing budget is maintained as that is crucial for the industry?

See this speech in context