John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

I am glad to have an opportunity to speak on the Bill. This is the first time I have spoken on tourism as a Member of the House and I wish the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, the very best in his role. He is doing a very good job. I also wish the very best to the Minister, Deputy Varadkar. As previous speakers mentioned, the tourism industry is vital to our economic recovery. The initiatives taken by the Government since coming to office have highlighted that the Cabinet realises the potential for development in this sector.

I agree with a number of the points made by Deputy Harrington, particularly with regard to genealogical tourism. Prior to coming to the Chamber I was watching the debate on the monitor in my office. My intern is from New England and like many from that part of the world, from throughout the United States and from further afield she has roots in this country. She does not know where exactly these roots are, but she is determined to find out from where her ancestors left. There is great potential in this sector.

I also agree wholeheartedly with Deputy Harrington's comments on signage and I very much want to bring this to the attention of the Minister of State, Deputy Ring. One of the few legacies of the Celtic tiger is very good road infrastructure throughout the country, with motorways from Dublin to all of the cities and other parts of the country. However, in my part of the world significant difficulties exist with the NRA with regard to providing signage for some tourist facilities in the Waterford, Kilkenny and Carlow areas. The NRA has rules, which are necessary as I agree one cannot have an over-proliferation of signage on the new motorways, but some leeway should be given for people investing money in providing tourism products in regional rural Ireland, such as the part of the world from which the Minister of State comes. These areas are bypassed by the motorways but their facilities cannot in any way be acknowledged in the signage that exists on the motorways.

I am a firm supporter of the efforts of Mount Juliet to attract international golfing events to Ireland. I have never golfed myself but I believe the potential of the industry is great and Mount Juliet is a fantastic facility. It is allowed to have a sign on the new motorway to Waterford but other golf courses are not, and I know of one which like Mount Juliet is a private venture. A little inequality seems to exist with regard to who is allowed signage and who is not. Will the Minister of State work with the National Roads Authority and the tourism authorities to ensure more reasonable rules are put in place with regard to who can get signage on these routes? I represent Carlow and Kilkenny which have always had a strong tourism industry. I commend the Government on its efforts with the jobs initiative in particular which was aimed at targeting the tourism sector for expansion. The reductions in the VAT rates were especially beneficial but also the introduction of the visa waiver scheme. I know from talking to people involved in the tourism and catering sectors in Kilkenny that there was a significant improvement this summer as a result of the VAT decrease. That is acknowledged by people who work in the industry.

I agree with previous speakers about the potential to attract major international sporting events to the country. This week the Solheim Cup in County Meath proved to be a fantastic success. The Ryder Cup was held in this country a few years ago and previously Walker Cup competitions were also held here. The golf tourism sector has potential to attract vast numbers of people and expenditure in the tourism sector in the regions. The beauty of the golfing product as a tourism attraction is that it is something that can spread throughout the country because there are quality golf courses in every county. More must be done in that regard to attract similar events to this country in the future.

I was pleased to hear Deputy Breen speak previously about the Olympics because that is one of the points I wish to make. Next year the Olympics is the biggest international sporting event in the world and it will arguably never be closer to us in our lifetime. Deputy Breen indicated that the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, is chairing a committee which is aimed at attracting benefits to this country, the economy and the tourism sector given the proximity of the Olympics next year. The visa waiver scheme was designed specifically with the location of the Olympics in London next year in mind. There is great potential in attracting people who are coming from all over the world to the events which will be taking place in the United Kingdom. While people are at this side of the world they could cross the Irish Sea and spend time in this country. I refer not just to participants in the Olympic Games but to spectators.

In the past ten to 15 years there has been significant investment in tourism infrastructure especially in the provision of hotel beds. In my area of Kilkenny we have gone from a situation where there was limited hotel accommodation a few years ago to a greatly expanded number currently. Previous Governments invested in the sector by way of tax relief for the building of hotels. Taxpayers' money helped to build many of the facilities and it is important that the investment is followed up to realise the potential that exists to attract and cater for tourists right across the country.

A few developments which have taken place in my area in recent years are worthy of note. I agree with what Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy said about the potential to attract tourists to this country. She referred to garden tourism. One of the best of the facilities which have been developed is Woodstock Gardens in Inistioge, County Kilkenny, which is near where I live. It was developed in co-operation with the tourism authorities and Kilkenny County Council in recent years. It is a spectacular Victorian era garden in south County Kilkenny. There has also been a significant investment in the Castlecomer Demesne in north Kilkenny and the development of a walkway from Kilkenny city to Inistioge through the Nore valley, a walk of more than 20 km. There is potential to extend the walk down the entire length of the Nore valley and even into New Ross and the Barrow valley. I hope that can be considered in the future.

That is all I wish to say. I welcome the legislation and the increase in funding for tourism development. It is a positive step and I am fully supportive of it.

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