Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

It is fair to acknowledge that there was not a problem because there was such a fall-off in tourists coming to the country. They come in different ways but most tourists who come here need a car. The fact that we will be down about 1 million tourists this year would have decreased demand on our car rental fleet. If the Minister expects to build up tourism figures to eight million she must have adequate current supply available. I am sure she would agree that for rural tourism especially, car-rental is essential.

The requirements of the tourism car rental sector and the car industry are not compatible because the car industry has to ramp up the number of cars available from May to July and then there is a surplus available in the winter. Will the Minister consider making a proposal to the Minister for Finance that the car scrappage scheme be extended for 2010 car rentals? It would provide an incentive. I ask her to consider other measures to encourage the availability of more automatic cars, especially for American tourists.

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