Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I am in favour of amendment No. 36, tabled by Deputy Pearse Doherty. He suggests a reduction to 1 cent. This is a technical matter because he would have been ruled out of order if he reduced it to zero as that causes a charge on the Exchequer.

The sentiment underpinning the Fine Gael amendment and our amendment is similar. We need to staff up and introduce traction into the tourism sector. This sector has been badly hurt in recent years and that is likely to continue for some time yet. The proposed substantial reduction or virtual abolition of the travel tax, as put forward in Deputy Doherty's amendment, is an important move to assist the sector. I accept such move would not by any means solve the problem facing the tourism sector but it would provide substantial assistance.

It is important that the incoming Government would examine the tourism sector as it offers serious prospects for development and it could provide a stimulus to enhance economic growth. I hope that whatever Government is in place after the election will recognise the need to give a boost to our tourism sector. Tourism is almost a natural resource at one level in terms of the physical infrastructure and scenery on this island. We have a great deal of built infrastructure in place and there is massive untapped capacity in the sector in terms of its further development. There needs to be a new Government-led approach to this sector. Some hotel chains market themselves on their own or partially on their own steam and Fáilte Ireland does its job. Such marketing has been significantly joined up in recent years but it has not been joined up sufficiently to capture the full value of the market spend. It is important that such marketing of the sector is rolled out, first, on an island basis and, second, on a region by region basis. There is a huge opportunity to develop the sector and I hope it will be taken.

If the Minister were to indicate he would accept amendment No. 36, at least it would go some way towards throwing the ball in the right direction.

See this speech in context