Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the Deputies who contributed to the debate and offered their views on the overall development of Irish tourism. I also welcome hearing Members' views on the industry, which is vitally important to the economy of every region of the country and is a valued source of employment for tens of thousands of people in Ireland.

I want to respond to a few of the queries raised by the Deputies. Deputy Dooley spoke about ensuring that we maintain value for money and, of course, we must do that. We have a favourable external factor at present but that might not always be there and we must ensure we are competitive, that our pricing structure is competitive and that we have a quality product which will attract tourists. I was delighted to hear his support for the Wild Atlantic Way and the signature projects. In regard to tourism policy, we are aware of the risks. A regional spread is very important. In terms of capital investment, we need to invest more in the towns and regions to give people an opportunity to have the product they need to bring tourists to the regions.

A theme common to all the contributions was the need to ensure we maintain value for money and the importance of competitiveness. Deputy Fitzmaurice spoke about retaining value for money. He also spoke about the River Shannon and the lakelands and the great potential they offer. We are aware of that great potential and a study is being carried out to examine how we can get the most out of it, such as the Blueway tourism initiative.

Currently, Fáilte Ireland is partnering with Waterways Ireland and local authorities to develop tourism along the Shannon waterway and associated wetlands, and work is under way to develop an experience brand, such as Ireland's Ancient East or the Wild Atlantic Way, centred on the unique aspects of life along the river. Fáilte Ireland is currently working with Waterways Ireland as the lead on the development of blueways. There has been a focus on greenways and the Wild Atlantic Way and the blueways will have something to do with water.

Deputies Jim Daly and Anthony Lawlor referred to the importance of communities and getting them involved in tourism. The Wild Atlantic Way would not have worked but for the fact that people and communities bought into it. If that does not happen on the east coast Ireland’s Ancient East will not develop. People cannot expect Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland and the Government to do everything for them. Communities, businesses and those involved in tourism in the area must buy into the concept in the coming years. The Ancient Irish East has the same potential as the Wild Atlantic Way and I hope people buy into it.

We are up against very stiff competition internationally but the Wild Atlantic Way is competing with the best in the world. We are currently promoting Dublin and Ireland’s Ancient East and we are winning the battle. In the context of tourism, one can talk about jobs, the Government, communities and the favourable rate of the dollar versus the euro at the moment. However, we must thank the trade also. Sometimes people on all sides of the House forget what the trade itself does. I have been on trade missions with many businesses from this country. The tourism sector does two things. It works very hard and those involved put their hand in their pocket and accompany Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland to promote their products abroad. They take major risks. In recent years the tourism sector has gone through a very difficult time. People have had to work harder for less profit and some found themselves in major debt. People are working their way out of that. People put a lot of work into it and those involved are to be complimented on the great work they do. Sometimes we forget the major investment they make.

Deputy Buttimer spoke about Fáilte Ireland in the context of the Cork local authorities and how they are working closely to promote a new brand for Cork. I hope the local authorities, communities and everybody else will work together in that regard. Cork is in a unique position. Deputy Buttimer referred to people coming into the area from Cork Airport, which presents a great opportunity for the city and region. The tourism sector must work on the Wild Atlantic Way brand because that is in its interest. If tourists land in Cork Airport they can travel to west Cork, Clare, Galway, elsewhere in the west and they can also go to the city of Dublin. The area has an opportunity and I expect those involved in the tourism sector will make the most of it.

Regardless of whoever is here after the election perhaps Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland could come to the Oireachtas on a Wednesday to explain what it is doing. I brought Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland to public meetings around the country. People do not realise what the tourism bodies are doing. The Bill before the House relates to Fáilte Ireland, which deals with the domestic market while Tourism Ireland deals with the international market. We have small teams that work very hard. Sometimes we forget that. In recent years, tourism, like every other sector had to fight for funding. That is difficult when one is competing with areas such as health and education. Perhaps tourism funding was cut more than should have been the case. The reduction in the VAT rate was the one great thing that happened.

The common denominator in contributions from Members in today’s debate was hotel prices around the country but in particular in Dublin. I wish to set down a marker today to the hotel industry. The VAT rate was reduced from 13.5% to 9% but that will not be the case indefinitely if hotels continue to increase prices and disrupt the market in any way. Tourism is a national product that spans the west, the cities and the entire country working together. We do not want any sector damaging the tourism trade. I warn hotels about prices because there has been much talk about the price of hotels in Dublin. We went through a difficult time four or five years ago and we are now recovering. Every single year since we came into Government there has been an increase in hotel prices. I wish to put that on the record.

People can talk about favourable factors such as the strength of the dollar versus the euro but last year, 8.2 million people came into this country. It was not only the best year in the past five years or the best year since the recession, it was the best year ever for tourism in this country and that created almost €3.5 billion for the State. In recent years the tourism industry has proven itself. More than 205,000 people are employed in the sector and we hope to increase that to 250,000. Between now and 2025 we hope to increase tourism numbers to 10 million per annum. We must work together and help and support one another. The Government must play its part, as must Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland, and the industry itself. We must never go back again to the bad old days in terms of the prices that were charged in this country.

When I took over this job my first task was to deal with The Gathering. The Taoiseach asked me to go all over Britain and to America and to try to get people to visit this country. The common denominator in every part of Britain was the price structure in this country. When people came for The Gathering they got value for money and they were not ripped off. They enjoyed their visit and when they went back home they acted as our ambassadors. They told people there was value to be got in Ireland. We must make sure the value is maintained.

Deputy Costello referred to the proposal for the Dublin docklands area. He is correct that it is a very good proposal. A number of walks are already organised in Dublin and we can examine other options. The more we have the better. Deputy Conaghan mentioned industrial tourism. That is something we must examine. We must examine any product that we have. People want to see something that is different. They do not come here to sleep but to see the countryside and to see what we have to offer. When they see we have many products the hope is that they will come back again. Both of the ideas the Deputies mentioned are good ones. Walks, greenways and the industrial heritage are all part of the tourism product.

That is what today’s Bill is about. Fáilte Ireland can currently spend up to a limit of €150 million but when the Bill is passed the limit will increase to €300 million. At the moment if the Government wants to give Fáilte Ireland €160 million it cannot spend it because of the clear limit specified in the legislation of €150 million. I hope in the coming years Fáilte Ireland will get money from the Government to enhance the tourism product. We need to spread the product all around the country and to look at different ideas and new thinking because one cannot allow the product to become stale. One must freshen it up constantly and come up with new product ideas. Deputy Keating also correctly referred to hotel pricing. I have sent out a warning that the VAT rate is not set in stone forever. We will monitor the situation on a regular basis.

I thank all Members for their contributions. I also thank my officials for the work they put into the Bill. Tourism is going very well at the moment but we must be very careful, keep our eye on the ball and make sure we do not price ourselves out of the market. We have gone through a difficult time but we are in now recovery and we must build on that. Tourism jobs can be provided in every corner of the country, in particular places that will not attract multinational companies. The one thing about tourism is that one can have an unusual project that will attract people. More than 100 people are now employed on the greenway in Mayo. It has given a boost to the towns of Newport, Mulranny and Achill. When we started the greenway project people said it would not work. People also said the Wild Atlantic Way would not work. They said it was another gimmick by the Government and Fáilte Ireland. The Wild Atlantic Way will be seen as one of the greatest initiatives taken in this country. It is only developing now and in the coming years more people will learn about it.

Ireland’s Ancient East is a new product. It is one we are working on. Dublin has its own unique selling point. We are putting funding and a strategy in place because we must look ahead to a time when things will not be going as well. We must compete with other cities around the world and we are doing that.

I thank all Deputies for their contributions.

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