Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

While I accept the genuineness of what the Deputy said, he should not expect anybody on any side of the House to anticipate currency movements. As he rightly pointed out, the reduction in visitor numbers from the UK has been compensated for partly by the visitor numbers from the US. Also, what is happening within Fáilte Ireland is something very commendable. It will receive €2 million and will also receive a massive capital injection over the next five years. It would be wrong to dismiss the four years after this year and say that it is not part of the equation. That will be very important because the consequences of Brexit will be permanent and long term. What Fáilte Ireland has done is to enter and extend its diversification of markets campaign and we have seen from it that it is concentrating on markets where they are bigger spenders than the UK and where revenue is greater. Let us not be too depressed about this. The increase from all these other countries is to be welcomed. The figures were up from nearly every other sector.

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