Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

Before I entered the Chamber, I received an e-mail from Baghdad which states:

All moving along here and with a government starting to form here, business and investment will get back on track once the new government is announced. I have been watching the goings on at home and the way things seem to be coming out. We have not improved our reputation with the way the Government has handled the whole affair. I am asked daily by colleagues here about how this could have happened.

As already stated, this message was sent from Baghdad, which is located in one of the most unsettled regions in the world. Those in that city are looking forward to a new government while we have chaos here. The person who sent the e-mail proceeds to state, "If I had to describe it, I would describe it as reckless banking, no regulation and failure of Government, who were totally complacent and indifferent."

When I think of Baghdad, I am reminded of Chemical Ali who, when American forces were approaching that city, appeared on live television and stated that there was no problem and that the Americans had been surrounded and destroyed. The position with the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance is somewhat similar. For a long period they made public statements to the effect that there was no problem here, that matters were under control and that there were no difficulties with the banks or the economy. The American invasion of Baghdad provides a good analogy for what happened in respect of our crumbling economy.

On this recovery plan which, ironically, this Government will not be implementing, there are a few matters I want to mention briefly. As regards tourism - my area of responsibility - I thought there would be some mention of the travel tax, which has been a disaster for tourism. Tourist numbers will be down by 1 million this year and we will lose €1 billion in revenue. The travel tax was supposed to yield €120 million but it will yield only €80 million. Whereas Mr. Michael O'Leary might say much that suits himself, I agree with him in this regard. People are influenced by that cost when booking tickets. The travel tax has been a major stumbling block for Irish tourism. In Holland, they were getting more than €300 million from a travel tax, they abolished it and they reckon they have gained €1 billion, in other words, a net gain of €700 million. This tax is daft and should be removed immediately. We could make it a condition that both Aer Lingus and Ryanair will bring in the passengers, something to which Mr. O'Leary has given a commitment. He has stated he will bring in 5 million to 6 million extra passengers over a short period of time and create up to 6,000 jobs.

The plan does not mention that hotels and restaurants all over the country are under considerable pressure from costs and charges. In the good times of the Celtic tiger I argued here with a previous Minister for tourism, my county colleague, Deputy O'Donoghue, that excise duty and every other cost was higher in Ireland than all over Europe. We lost our competitiveness, and that is another reason people are not coming here.

One issue about which we could do something is that of rates. The Valuation Act 2001 envisaged that every rateable property would have its valuation revised every five to ten years. The Commissioner of Valuation has carried out revisions in only three of the 88 rating areas in the country and where he has carried them out, the rates have been reduced on average by 30%.

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