Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have a simple view which is that we should do whatever is practical and possible to increase the number of tourists and business visitors to the country, but we must do so in the context of agreed arrangements with the United Kingdom for the common travel area. This is the subject of ongoing discussions and as I stated, I expect new announcements to be made in this regard in 2014.

The Central Statistics Office figures for tourist visas in respect of the countries covered by the visa waiver programme indicate that such visits increased by almost 21% in the 12 months after the introduction of the programme compared to the number in the 12 months preceding it. Comparing the figures for 2010, the last full year before the programme was introduced, with those for 2012, the increase is 38%. The programme has been widely welcomed by tourism promotion agencies and tour operators. The retail sector has stated an increase in tourists from the countries mentioned is visibly apparent and some major retail outlets are now starting to employ individuals with the linguistic skills to facilitate our additional new visitors from some of the relevant countries. I will maintain a continuing interest in considering what we can do to extend the number of visitors to this country and participate closely with our European Union colleagues. We must do this in the context of preserving the common travel area. The last thing we need to do is create a situation where borders will be reimposed between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. These are all important considerations in how we deal with matters.

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