Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

The National Tourism Development Authority (Amendment) Bill 2015 provides for an increase in the level of capital funding which can be voted to the National Tourism Development Authority - Fáilte Ireland - for the purpose of supporting tourism product development.

Before moving to the detail of the Bill, I want to outline to the House the importance of the tourism sector, its significant contribution to Ireland's overall economic performance and the progress that has been made over the past few years.

When the Government came into office in 2011, it identified tourism and hospitality as a key sector in Ireland’s overall economic recovery. To support the sector, the Government committed itself to taking various actions to rebuild competitiveness, grow business and increase employment. The first of these measures to reduce value added tax, VAT, on tourism services from 13.5% to 9% was taken in 2011 and has greatly enhanced the competitiveness of the industry. This measure was complemented by a radical change in our approach to visitors from developing markets through the visa waiver programme. The programme has made travelling to Ireland and Britain easier and more convenient for visitors from these developing long haul markets, such as India and China, which are important markets for the future.

In 2013, we had The Gathering which, as Deputies know, was a highly successful initiative because it was backed not only by the Government but by communities in every county. It brought hundreds of thousands of extra visitors to events across the country, as well as a substantial increase in visitor spending.

In the 2013 budget, the Government extended the employment and investment incentive scheme to include tourism accommodation. The scheme allows investors to claim income tax relief on qualifying investments. It was extended for a further three years in budget 2015.

The zero rating of the air travel tax, announced in budget 2014, has also had a very welcome impact on increasing air access to Ireland. It led to the provision of additional capacity on many existing routes, as well as the introduction of more than 20 new services.

In tandem with the hard work of the industry and the tourism agencies, these initiatives have helped to support very welcome improvements in the numbers of overseas visitors and revenue. From a position in 2010 where the number of overseas visitors had fallen to a low of 6.1 million, we have seen their numbers increase every year since 2011. In 2014, we attracted 7.6 million overseas visitors to Ireland and these visitors contributed an estimated €3.5 billion to the economy. I am pleased to report that the picture for 2015 was, again, very positive. The most recent Central Statistics Office, CSO, figures for overseas travel show that there were more than 8 million visits, an increase of 14% for the first 11 months of the year when compared to the same period in 2014. Even without the final month’s figures, we know that 2015 was a record year for overseas visitors, with an expected figure of 8.2 million visits, surpassing the previous record year of 2007.

Spending in Ireland by overseas visitors has also increased strongly. It was worth €3.58 billion in 2014 to the economy, an increase of 22% on the 2010 figure of €2.9 billion. When combined with domestic tourism, the industry is worth approximately €5 billion a year. The figures for 2015 look very promising, with revenue for just the first nine months standing at more than €3.3 billion. I am confident that when the final figures are available, it will be another high point for Irish tourism.

The increased activity in the past four years has also meant that tourism has been a major contributor to job creation. The most recently published figures by the CSO show that employment in accommodation and food services in the third quarter of the year had increased by 18,800, or 16%, to 139,900 since 2011. In total, taking into account other areas of tourism and hospitality, Fáilte Ireland estimates 205,000 people work in the tourism and hospitality sector. These jobs are spread across the country, often in places where other opportunities are limited. These jobs are also available to people with a range of skills.

The great progress made in the past five years does not mean, however, that the Government can divert its attention away from the sector. We cannot become complacent or rest on our laurels. Continued growth is not guaranteed. To fully develop the potential of the sector in a sustainable way, we need to constantly review our policy and the investment required. With this in mind, I will turn to the new tourism policy which the Government has developed to ensure tourism will remain a central part of Ireland’s economic growth.

Last March, the Taoiseach launched the Government’s new tourism policy statement entitled, People, Place and Policy, Growing Tourism to 2025. It provides a framework for the tourism industry to thrive in a changing global tourism marketplace. The three headline targets of the new statement are: spending by overseas tourists in Ireland to rise to €5 billion per year by 2025, net of inflation; that there will be 250,000 people employed in the tourism industry by 2025; and that we attract 10 million overseas visitors to Ireland by 2025. To achieve these targets, we have looked at Irish tourism and asked how we can make the most of its two key strengths: its friendly and welcoming people and the quality of things to see and do. The new policy is focused on building on these twin strengths of people and place.

In this regard, the Bill is essential to delivering that policy because it will allow continued capital investment to develop and improve the attractiveness of Ireland as a place to come and in which to holiday. Fundamentally, it is the quality of the destination that is the primary factor which inspires potential visitors to come to Ireland or holiday at home. More specifically, virtually no one goes on holiday because of the quality of the hotel bed in which he or she sleeps. Important as that is, the real driver of holiday visitors is the number of places to see and things to do. Our challenge is to maintain and enhance the quality of our range of attractions and activities. Our core tourism offering must continue to improve and change to stay relevant to what potential visitors are looking for.

Tourism capital investment has been and will continue to be central to keeping Ireland as a great place to visit. Capital investment in tourism can improve the visitor experience and support economic development. When this will not happen on a commercial basis, the Government needs to step in to support it. As set out in the tourism policy statement, our focus in developing Irish tourism in the coming years will be on the most promising potential visitors in each of our priority markets. The new experience brands of the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s Ancient East and Dublin - A Breath of Fresh Air have been designed with these potential visitors in mind. Accordingly, as set out in the new policy, future capital investment will support the development of these experience brands.

The success of the Wild Atlantic Way shows the potential of this approach. It has already exceeded our expectations in how quickly it has caught the imagination of tourists, as well as communities along the route. We are continuing to invest in the route and the things to do along it and its profile gets stronger every year. The lessons learned during its development have guided the development of Ireland’s Ancient East, the aim of which is to build on the rich history of the south, east and midlands in places such as Clonmacnoise, Newgrange, mediaeval Kilkenny and Waterford. The vision is that it will give visitors the opportunity to experience 5,000 years of European history in a small, compact area. It is early days but it has the potential to attract a significant number of visitors to these areas and generate revenue and jobs in many rural communities. As with the Wild Atlantic Way, businesses and communities in Ireland’s Ancient East need to become fully involved to make the most of the initiative. If they do, I have no doubt that it will be a big success.

Dublin also is the subject of a major brand experience project. We all know that last year was a really good one for tourism in Dublin, with the city thronged with tourists and hotels full throughout the summer. However, we need to look to Dublin’s long-term appeal and guarantee that, whatever happens in external markets or however currencies fluctuate, it will continue to attract visitors and compete with other city destinations overseas. The new brand for it will show off its unique position as a vibrant capital city that is also incredibly close to mountains and sea, an experience not found in most other cities. Capital investment will support this brand development.

Future capital investment focused on these key areas will play a vital role in developing Ireland as a destination, as it has done in the past.

11 o’clock

Since Fáilte Ireland was established, almost €140 million has been invested in projects such as walking and cycling routes, tourist visitor attractions and facilities for visitor activities. Among the notable projects that have been allocated grant aid are: the Dublin heritage trail; Waterford Viking triangle; Sliabh Liag cliffs in Donegal; Athlone Castle; Mizen Head Bridge in west Cork; the great western greenway; King John’s Castle in Limerick; Castletown House in County Kildare; the historic towns initiative; the development of the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland’s Ancient East; Killarney House; the medieval mile in Kilkenny; and Spike Island.

Spread across the country, these investments have enhanced their local areas and regions and strengthened their tourism sectors. It is essential to provide for capital investment in such projects into the future and this gives rise to the need for the Bill before the House today.

I will now deal with the purpose of the Bill in detail. The National Tourism Development Authority Act was passed in 2003 to dissolve Bord Fáilte Éireann and CERT Limited and establish the National Tourism Development Authority, Fáilte Ireland. Section 24(1) of that Act gives the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, the power to advance, out of money provided by the Oireachtas, such sums as the Minister may determine. Section 24(2) limits the total amount of money over a series of years that can be advanced by the Minister to Fáilte Ireland as capital expenditure on projects or enterprises. However, annual funding allocations are made in the normal way through the Estimates and budgetary process. This limit on total capital funding was originally set at €65 million but was later increased to €150 million under the National Tourism Development Authority (Amendment) Act 2011.

Taking into account the 2016 capital allocation to Fáilte Ireland, investment in tourism capital is now approaching that limit. Once the spending limit has been reached, no further voted capital moneys may be advanced to Fáilte Ireland for tourism capital investment projects. Accordingly, it is prudent to legislate now for an increase in this limit. Taking into account the allocations under the Government’s capital plan - Building on Recovery Infrastructure and Capital Investment - the Bill proposes raising the limit to €300 million to cover anticipated annual allocations over the life of the plan. The Bill also clarifies that it is now with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, rather than the Minister for Finance, that the Minister may advance moneys to Fáilte Ireland. I am introducing this Bill to make these necessary legislative changes and I commend it to the House.

See this speech in context