Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

I am glad of the opportunity to contribute to this debate on tourism, an industry that is essential to the recovery of our economy.

I welcome the contribution by the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Michael Ring, on the Bill last weekend and commend the approach of the Department on this issue. I am aware the Bill is merely technical in nature but I welcome the lifting of the cap on the level of advances that may be made to the National Tourism Development Authority out of the capital moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

The Bill also provides us with ample opportunity to debate the issue of tourism. It allows us to step back and take a comprehensive look at the way we plan to prioritise tourism to improve revenue streams into this country from abroad and provide a boost to the Exchequer. Crucially, we also know that supporting tourism means supporting jobs. There is huge potential for job creation considering how employment rich the tourism industry can be.

The Bill states that the moneys provided are to support enterprises and projects relating to the development of tourist traffic and tourist facilities and services. I fully support the prioritisation of tourism in this way.

When this Government came into power, the reputation of this country on the international stage was at an all-time low. Our international reputation would not have encouraged people to visit here, and the figures bear that out. Tourism Ireland statistics for 2009 show that visitor numbers decreased by 12% and tourism revenue fell by 19%. Despite that, however, I commend the work of the National Tourism Development Authority, or Fáilte Ireland as most people know it, in its efforts to boost tourism, particularly when tourist numbers here are reflective of the global economic downturn and falling trends in international tourism.

Despite the reduction in the numbers of visitors to Ireland, recent CSO figures show that the numbers of Irish people travelling abroad are also decreasing. Fáilte Ireland has rightly seen this as an opportunity to encourage Irish people to holiday at home and to develop the domestic tourism market.

Fáilte Ireland's tourism barometer for 2011 shows that the picture is already improving. For example, 43% of Irish hotels, 41% of self-catering accommodation and 46% of golf clubs reported an increase in business this year compared to their figures for 2010.

This Government is working hard to ensure we can hold our heads high on the international stage again. We must make Ireland an attractive place to visit once more. The Government made a serious commitment to tourism from the outset with its €8.5 million initiative to support inbound tourism from key overseas markets. The visa waiver scheme, for example, is an imaginative approach. Its aim is to boost tourism. The reduction in VAT in certain service industries was well received, bringing prices down in restaurants and hotels across the country.

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