Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

With regard to the short-stay visa waiver programme, some time ago the Minister told one of my colleagues that he did not keep data for visitors who had first come through the United Kingdom on a UK visa. Is this still policy? The Minister read a figure showing the increase in tourists from some of the 17 countries involved such as India and China. Clearly he is liaising closely with the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and the Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, in that regard. It was introduced initially as part of the jobs initiative plan in the middle of 2011. Does the Minister have any intention of changing this and seeing how we can maximise the amount of additional visitors? It was in L'Express that the Commission first mooted this proposal for a wide-ranging programme for the European Union in general for the areas not covered by the Schengen agreement. It was part of the European economic recovery programme to boost tourism revenue by €500 billion.

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