Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

Neither Fáilte Ireland nor I can substantiate the suggestion that one restaurant per day is closing because restaurants are not obliged to officially register under existing tourism legislation. However, I am aware that there is a high level of turnover in restaurant establishments internationally.

It is Government policy to develop and support the tourism and hospitality industry through an appropriate range of policies and programmes in partnership with key representative bodies, including the Restaurants Association of Ireland, the Irish Hotels Federation and the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation. Since becoming Minister I have taken the opportunity to meet each of these representative bodies individually in order to hear their concerns and to see how the businesses they represent may be supported and made more competitive.

The State tourism agencies are maintaining their marketing drives to attract overseas and domestic tourists to holiday in Ireland, thereby boosting demand for tourism businesses, including restaurants. In 2010, the Restaurants Association of Ireland was approved grant funding of €44,250 by Fáilte Ireland towards its marketing activities under the market access support scheme. Fáilte Ireland is also offering a number of business supports to individual restaurant establishments, for example, business tools for kitchen management and food cost control, business mentoring, e-business support and advice on promoting and marketing.

Fáilte Ireland has established a food and hospitality innovation office which, in partnership with key stakeholders, has the ultimate goal of having Ireland recognised by domestic and international visitors alike for the accessibility, quality and value of our food experiences. To achieve this goal the State tourism agencies must work in partnership with the industry to grow and develop the restaurant sector. This is the approach that has been taken through the food tourism industry working group, which was established by Fáilte Ireland and includes key industry stakeholders such as the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Good Food Ireland, Eurotoque Ireland and sectoral entrepreneurs such as Darina Allen. It will shortly finalise a national food in tourism implementation framework which it plans to launch over the coming months. The focus of the implementation framework is to increase the availability and accessibility of local food and to capitalise on Ireland's potential to expand our reputation for good food and to become a destination for international and domestic food lovers.

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