Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

With all the questions that have been grouped together, it appears no one is here to facilitate a response, with the exception of my colleagues in Sinn Féin, who are always here. I will be happy to make a couple of points.

The Minister of State will be aware that representations have been made by the Irish Hotels Federation to complain about a lack of appropriate information to help it to develop niche markets and to engage in more efficient planning and marketing. The federation believes the Central Statistics Office should be encouraged to conduct frequent and more detailed surveys of visitors and their requirements. Surely, we must engage in that activity. In particular, good and frequent intelligence is required about where foreign visitors go, their requirements and how their holidays could be improved. The president of the Irish Hotels Federation, Mr. Michael Vaughan, says a lack of detailed information has reduced the effectiveness of his organisation's international marketing campaigns. He said there must be a greater emphasis on attracting business conferences and the promotion of the regions. Unfortunately, the back-up data required are not available. I ask the Minister of State to impress on the Taoiseach, under the aegis of whose Department the agency operates, the necessity for the CSO to put in place additional modules in its ongoing investigative work to address the deficit in information which would be of use to the Irish Hotels Federation to do what it does best.

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