Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)

That is perfectly acceptable. I congratulate the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, on her new portfolio and wish her the best of luck with it. We are in challenging times in every sector of the economy and there is much potential to grow in the tourism area. The Minister will bring her skills to bear on that Department and I hope she will take on board some of the points made by us on the Opposition benches tonight. I thank Deputy Olivia Mitchell for bringing forward this very sensible motion.

My colleagues have spoken about the well-documented and substantial decline in revenues generated by the tourism industry in Ireland over the past 18 months or so. It is unfortunate and very damaging to the overall economic position in the country. We know that all aspects of the tourism industry, through the arts and cultural, heritage or hospitality elements, as well as ancillary activities and businesses, are under significant pressure. It is essential for us to acknowledge this and respond to it.

Air travel is a very important element of the issue. When it comes to innovating in air travel, Ireland has become a world leader, due in no small part to the significant success of Ryanair and the drive and innovation of Michael O'Leary. He often gets much flak and undue criticism but I hold him up as an inspiration and somebody we could learn much from in terms of how we run our economy. He has done immense and often unrecognised things with Ryanair, innovating not just in the airline sector in this country but setting an example of an economic model that has been followed in all corners of the world by other airlines.

It amazes me that when we have such a successful company in this country, the Government appears to be prepared to scapegoat the airline industry. It is important to point out that the various companies involved in air travel do not have their hands out for subsidies and are not looking to be propped up in any shape or form. They are seeking fair and fertile conditions in which to grow, which is not too much to ask for.

The departure tax penalises an industry that is innovative and which is a world leader; I cannot understand the logic. We need to encourage more growth in the industry and as an island State we particularly need to encourage air travel to and from this country. The departure tax does precisely the opposite so I urge the Minister to consider reversing it.

I will go on a slight tangent before concluding. The Government must adopt measures to support tourism. The services industry has been completely let down by this Government and the one element our party called for as a priority in our pre-budget submission was a reduction in the lower rate of VAT to 10.5%. This would make an enormous difference to restaurants, hotels and other labour-intensive industries. I hope the Minister will think about it because it is essential for employment in this country.

See this speech in context