Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I am glad to support the motion. Tourism is important. I come from Cork, which was the European Capital of Culture in 2005, and that boosted the city's reputation worldwide.

The Minister referred to the air travel tax, which was introduced in the 2009 budget, and I am glad she is in contact with representatives of the airlines. I am sure they will provide her with their research, which shows that this tax has resulted in the loss of 3,000 jobs directly and €480 million in revenue. It is time the Minister put her hands up, said it is a disaster and it should never have happened. Belgium, Denmark, Holland and Spain have withdrawn a similar tax and the sooner that happens, the better because it makes no sense for an island nation to have such a tax.

I would like the Minister to raise the cost of flights, particularly from the US, with airline representatives. I have spoken to three people in the past week who cannot get to Ireland in August for less than $1,000 having explored all the options available, including connecting through Heathrow Airport. One is a family member and two others happened to raise the issue with me. Those costs are prohibitive and they discourage tourists. Previous speakers have outlined figures, which demonstrate we are experiencing a steep decline in this area.

I am a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment and representatives of the National Competitiveness Council appeared before us this afternoon. Tourism was mentioned. Services exports generally increased by 12% in 2009 but tourism travel declined by 18%. The value of the sector has declined significantly over the past decade from 14% of services exports in 2001 to 5% in 2009. However, Ireland has a great deal to offer and we must focus on niche areas, particularly golf.

Domestic tourism is also important. Festivals and investment in improving the tourism product in our cities and towns will be crucial and we must focus on this. At the committee meeting earlier, we also discussed the continuing obstacles to doing business, including the lack of high quality broadband outside Dublin and local authority charges. We have the highest landfill costs and water charges are high. The cost of paying for water has increased by almost 20% in the past year and this affects most tourism businesses. I have referred to a number of issues which should go into the Minister's melting pot.

See this speech in context