John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Given the development of the recent so-called green wave, it is particularly disappointing to see there are no representatives of it to discuss sustainable tourism. I thought it would have been at the top of their list for discussion. If it were a topic related to any of the major parties, there would be much media interest in the absence of politicians to discuss it. I am not being petty about it; I am just surprised.

I want the Minister of State to do more to provide time for debates devoted specifically to tourism. Tourism is the underrated, understated poor relation among departmental areas, mainly because the sector always talks itself up. Things are always good in tourism. An academic involved in the tourism area once said to me that agriculture never talks itself up. It always raises the bar when there has been a good year, a good yield, a good year for beef or cereal crops, or a sunny year with good harvests. It is right. Tourism always sells itself very high. Everyone, therefore, believes tourism is doing fine because those in the industry tend to say they are doing fine.

The amount of money invested in research and development in tourism is minuscule compared to the amount invested in research and development in agriculture, horticulture and the food industry, for example. This is not a criticism of the Minister of State but of successive Governments. Despite my point on investment, everyone is speaking in glowing terms about tourism here. That has to change. Contrary to what one of the previous speakers said, I believe the figures suggest tourism was one of the most resilient products we had during the crash. Some incredible things happened and businesses did amazing things to stay alive during the crash years.

While agriculture can be described as our gold, tourism is very much up there in terms of exports. Granted, they are invisible exports. Unfortunately, the bulk of my time will be used in making an appeal to the Minister of State. There was an attempt to set up a tourism satellite account around 2010 or 2011. The Central Statistics Office did some work on this.

For the public who may not be stakeholders in tourism, I can say we know how many visitors come to Ireland, the number of bed nights and the number of travellers but we do not know how tourism penetrates into the economy and how deeply it penetrates. I do not know how the local coffee shop in Knocklyon, Rathfarnham or Tallaght is benefiting from tourism. A tourism satellite account, of the kind that various larger and smaller economies have, would enable us to estimate the true value of tourism to this economy. Now that there is a little more room for manoeuvre, it is timely to do that. We need to know, in reality, how much tourism is worth to this economy. We do not have any real developed sense of that.

We talk about sustainability a lot. I define sustainability as that quality of not being harmful to an area or the environment. County Dublin has been utterly reliant on the city in terms of attracting tourists. Now there are some great steps in south Dublin although they have met some resistance. I do not believe anyone has ever advocated on behalf of those concerned. An example is the proposal to develop the Hellfire Club as a tourist hub. Tourism creates jobs. In time, there could be arts, crafts and little industries if An Bord Pleanála grants permission. The biggest advantage to the development of the Hellfire Club visitor centre, which will be located well away from the club and result in its being protected and other things, is that it enables a phenomenal amount of local tourism to take place. People cannot gain access to it at the moment. There is nowhere with baby-changing facilities. There is no place to have a cup of coffee. There are no bathroom facilities in the Dublin mountains, by and large. This would make a really positive contribution, yet just a small one. I am talking with south Dublin county. If visitors stay in any of the hotels in Tallaght, for example, the only offerings they have are Tayto Park or Dublin Zoo. They are miles away. Therefore, it is a question of sustainability and not having to drive to a local tourism spot but being able to walk with one's family. It is not always about inward tourism as it can also be about facilitating locals to make the most of and capitalise on the treasures on their doorstep without having to increase their carbon footprint by having to travel miles to sites and facilities in other counties. Similarly, at places such as Rathfarnham Castle, South Dublin County Council is making an effort to develop an Avoca-style offering in the outbuildings. While there may be inward tourism, it is also the case that locals do not have to drive for miles to avail themselves of the kinds of attractions such a facility would offer, thereby decreasing their carbon footprint.

Tourism is not always about inward tourism. I feel very strongly about indigenous tourism and facilitating our citizens to make the most, in a non-invasive way, of the treasures on their doorstep without having to increase their carbon footprint in doing so.

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