Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)

St. Patrick's Day was an ideal opportunity to showcase this country in both America and the UK. To its credit, Tourism Ireland did an excellent job. As the Deputy is aware, Tourism Ireland is an all-island body. It is a company more than a statutory agency but it promotes the entire 32 counties. It is doing a very good job. It must keep people happy on both sides which is not always easy. Overall, it is getting its strategy in place and it is working well. It also works well with Fáilte Ireland on the tourism strategy I published after Christmas. I got much feedback from the industry that there were concerns about both agencies working together. I suggested that perhaps they should operate from the same building so that they could work together more closely. I do not know whether that is possible. There is an overlap between some of the personnel on the boards, which is important. The chief executives, chairpersons and others should work closely together.

I agree with the Deputy's point about Donegal. Tourism is important all along the western seaboard. It is important also that the Northern Ireland Executive should have a particular interest in tourism. It should support Tourism Ireland with the Republic of Ireland as much as possible, in order to encourage it to promote this country — all parts of it — more aggressively abroad.

Donegal is like Kerry. They both have some of the most beautiful landscape in the world and both counties could be havens for outdoor activity. Both have an untapped potential.

Promotion is ongoing in the UK and in America. I understand that Tourism Ireland is trying to get as much publicity as it can through the media before the visits of both the President and the Queen. The visits provide Tourism Ireland with a unique opportunity and it is front-loading its budget to spend as much as possible on promotion before both events take place. I will work closely with the Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure in the Northern Assembly. There is a major connection with tourism there through the arts because arts in this country provide the product which in most cases attracts tourists. Arts and tourism are intrinsically linked. I am sure the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar, will be doing the same as I am doing with his counterpart in Northern Ireland.

Considerable emphasis will be placed on the visits of both the Queen and President Obama. I am not aware of their itineraries and do not know whether they have been decided upon. However, the visits will attract great interest from people all over the world.

See this speech in context