Beverley Flynn (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

I could say it will be hard to follow that but it is not. Coming from a county such as Mayo, which has a great number of tourist attractions, I realise Mayo can more than compete with Longford. With the manager of the Mayo team opposite me, I will definitely not agree with Deputy Kelly's statement. There is no doubt that Mayo will be victorious in Longford next Saturday.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this very important debate. Coming from a county that depends so much on tourism, I am particularly conscious of the role it plays in economic renewal. I compliment the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, whom I believe can make a significant change in this area, which is of such considerable importance to the economy. We know its importance because it accounts for 4% of GNP, employs 200,000, brings in revenue of €4 billion and tax earnings of €1.3 billion. This gives us some idea of the significance of tourism to the economy. It is important that we have a Minister driving tourism at the Cabinet table. We have such a Minister in Deputy Hanafin.

I welcome the fact that the Government has placed tourism at the centre of its plans. It is very much part of the framework in Building Ireland's Smart Economy. It formed a very significant part of the global Irish Economic Forum in September. The Taoiseach, in his recent speech on employment policy, stated tourism is one of the ten areas of the Government's economic renewal plan.

In last year's budget, tourism services comprised one of the few areas that secured an increase. Its increase amounted to 3%, bringing the spend in that area to €153 million.

Let me outline important initiatives. The employment subsidy scheme was open to the tourism sector and many hotels in County Mayo applied and were successful under it. I would like to see a further round of the scheme because it played a very significant part in maintaining jobs in the hotel and tourism sectors generally that might otherwise have been lost.

There are a few areas on which I want to focus that are causing considerable problems for the tourism industry. The first concerns the implications of NAMA and NAMA-run hotels for the industry. I am conscious of this because I am from a county with a great number of family-run hotels. The reason the hospitality and tourism sectors were such a success in Ireland was because they were very much dominated by family-run businesses. When people come to Ireland to experience the tourism product, they remember the family-run hotels. The very idea of NAMA running hotels will cause a problem. There is over-capacity in the marketplace. Bearing in mind that the price of hotel rooms is being driven down, which is welcome in terms of attracting visitors, it will be an awful shame if some of the NAMA hotels succeed while driving many family-run hotels out of business.

It is not that I am trying to see any hotel closed down because I am not; I am just saying we must be very conscious of this. When NAMA is dealing with hotels, we must protect the family-run hotels that have been with us for 30 or 40 years, and sometimes longer. Family-run hotels are a feature in County Mayo. I have spoken to the Irish Hotels Federation on this matter and know my concern is shared throughout the country.

The supply of credit to family-run businesses is a serious issue. Recently, despite the fact that banks are protesting they are providing money to viable businesses, they have in reality cut back severely on the working capital and overdraft facilities of many businesses. They have told the businesses that their overdraft facilities will be reduced and have asked them to convert those facilities to term loan facilities and work with a much smaller overdraft facility. The banks say they will extend money to viable businesses.

With regard to the appeal system in respect of credit supply, how does one assess a viable business? If one evaluates many retail businesses and individuals in the tourism sector over a period of only six to 12 months, one will find that none is or very few are viable. However, how can one argue that businesses that may have been in existence for 30 or 40 years do not have a viable future, certainly in the medium term? We must be aware that banks have been involved in some sharp practice, and this is making it very difficult for businesses to continue. The support given by the Government to the banking sector out of necessity to stabilise it must not be given at the cost of putting out of business many small businesses, particularly those in the tourism sector.

The issue of rates has been raised. There is a great burden on businesses because of the fixed charges imposed by the Government and local authorities. Rates play a considerable role in this regard. There is a double dilemma because local authorities are starved of money also. They are trying to derive revenue from rates but this is putting massive pressure on the business community. We must determine a mechanism to deal with this. There is no flexibility regarding the payment of fixed charges. If we could do something to help, by way of having a deferral or discount system applying to rates, it would make a massive difference to the tourism sector. If this alone could be addressed tonight, it would be a very positive step.

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