Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 68: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the plans there are to review the national development plan and its targets for tourism development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19801/08]

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 95: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism his views on whether the Government should increase its financial commitment to the tourism industry to maintain and improve the industry here in view of the fact that the total revenues generated by tourism exceed €6.5 billion a year and the industry employs more than 250,000 people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24583/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 68 and 95 together.

The National Development Plan 2007-2013 includes the largest ever Government investment programme for development of Irish tourism, providing €800 million in investment for the following: an international marketing sub-programme of €335 million to promote the island of Ireland in key international markets; a product development and infrastructure sub-programme of €317 million to upgrade and supplement tourism attractions and activities around the country and to deliver the national conference centre in Dublin; and a training and human resource development sub-programme of €148 million for education and training, and improving management capability.

The NDP investment is planned within the strategic policy framework in New Horizons for Irish Tourism: An Agenda for Action, the 2003 report of the tourism policy review group. This set ambitious targets for the period 2003 to 2012 of doubling overseas tourism revenue to €6 billion and increasing visitor numbers from 6 million in 2002 to 10 million in 2012.

The tourism strategy implementation group was set up in 2006 for a two-year period to follow up on the recommendations of New Horizons, to review the targets in light of performance to 2006 and to recommend a possible framework for a mid-term review in 2008. I recently received the report of the group and I will bring it to the attention of my Government colleagues shortly. It is my intention to publish the report and to put in place arrangements for the mid-term review as soon as possible thereafter.

The NDP provides a financial framework within which Departments and agencies can plan and deliver the implementation of public investment. The Government remains firmly committed to the progressive delivery of the investment priorities to be financed under the NDP, which will be subject to a comprehensive mid-term review in 2010. In the meantime, priorities for Exchequer investment will be considered in the annual Estimates process in the normal way. In line with the NDP, in 2008 the Government increased the tourism services budget by 10% compared with the outturn in 2007, bringing the allocation to almost €170 million, the largest ever Exchequer budget for Irish tourism.

There is no doubt that 2008 will be very challenging for Irish tourism in the context of global economic uncertainty and pressure on consumer confidence in key markets. I believe the strategic approach taken to tourism in recent years by the public and private sectors has given the sector the capacity to withstand such cyclical external challenges and to sustain its performance in the coming years.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. There is no doubt that in recent years we have seen increases, year on year, in the number of tourists coming to this country. There will be a significant curtailment this year, but to what level we will have to wait and see.

I wish to ask the Minister about the regional element of tourism because the difficulty is that my part of the country, namely the midlands, has been ignored when it comes to tourists. There is probably a greater opportunity to see a dodo than there is to see a tourist in the area, unless he or she happens to be passing through. Are there any plans to re-examine the situation whereby the River Shannon is being used as a barrier to tourism development rather than an asset with a region built around it? With regard to the clustering of attractions, will we see a repeat of what has happened in the past, whereby investment goes to the seaboard counties? We need investment in the midlands, where there has been a lack of tourism development.

What element of funding will be put in place for signposting, which is consistently raised by tourists as being hugely problematic, particularly in the midland counties where there has not been any significant investment? The one tourism asset in the midlands region is angling but it has only been given lip service in the current national development plan. In the previous national development plan, €21 million was committed to angling but was not spent on the sector. Can the Minister give any assurance that specific investment will be made to develop angling projects in the counties that have the least developed tourism sectors?

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I do not agree that any particular part of the country is being ignored when it comes to spending on tourism. Tourism Ireland's marketing strategy is such that it markets the entire island of Ireland as a destination for tourists, which has clearly benefitted every part of the country. However, the dynamic of the regional tourism boards certainly comes into play and it is obvious that very good people are working in some boards, while in others, the people are not as good, are not able to develop the product as well as they could and should and do not seem to have the same commitment as others.

Tourism numbers exceeded 8 million last year. I do not believe we will see a massive downturn this year because, as I have said already, the first quarter of this year shows growth of 4.5%. While I do not expect that growth to be maintained throughout the year, I hope we will be able at least to sustain the levels of last year. Whether the time spent in the country by tourists is the same remains to be seen and any changes in that regard will have revenue implications.

Clearly, the tourism horizons programme that was laid out for the development of tourism has worked extremely well for the entire island. There has been enormous growth in tourism development in all parts of the country. Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland are in constant contact with the regional tourism boards regarding developing tourism products and the Department has provided funding, through various agencies, for investment in tourism products. We must continue to develop our tourism products to be attractive and we must also be imaginative in such development.

I do not have specific information on signage to hand but if the Deputy tables a parliamentary question, I will obtain the relevant data. I know from my time in the Department of Transport that there was a big effort made and considerable funding was provided through the NRA to local authorities for signage improvements generally. I am not aware that my Department has specific resources at its disposal for signage but I urge the Deputy to table a parliamentary question, which I will endeavour to answer. It is through the local authorities, the Department of Transport and the NRA that the bulk of the budget for signage is delivered.

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Following up on the issues of transport and traffic, I wish to comment on the city of Dublin. Clearly, Dublin is hugely important from a tourism point of view but the specific criticisms we encounter relate to the lack of integrated ticketing and appropriate transport, as well as gridlock. I urge the Minister to co-operate with his colleagues in the Department of Transport on those issues because tourists have repeatedly referred to them as barriers to visiting what is a very expensive city.

In order not to incur the wrath of Deputy Naughten, I wish also to raise the matter of access from the city of Dublin. We must examine how to more effectively transport people from Dublin to other regions.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Hear, hear.

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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While I do not want to lose tourists from Dublin and from my constituency by any means, access to other parts of the country is very important.

In the context of more imaginative tourism attractions, to which the Minister referred, we must look at the changes in rural Ireland and perhaps place more emphasis on agri-tourism. Furthermore, with the Olympic Games due to be held in Britain in 2012, sports tourism should be developed in the coming years.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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The fundamental flaw regarding the issues I have raised is that no one is articulating a view on behalf of the counties that are least developed. Surely it would make sense to have a regional body promoting the single biggest waterway in the country, the River Shannon, rather than the current situation where the river is used as a dividing line between the various regions.

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I do not believe it is used as a dividing line between the regions, although the Deputy is correct in saying that the River Shannon is one of the biggest natural assets in the country. I would have thought there is good co-operation between the different elements in tourism and local authorities within the area, although I suppose nothing is so perfect that it cannot be improved upon. Perhaps that is the point Deputy Naughten is making, that more enhanced co-operation among the different elements——

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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When they are clustering, they cluster away from the Shannon, rather than towards it.

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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——might be mutually beneficial, if not of benefit to everybody in the region. As I do not come from Dublin, I am very conscious of the regions and understand some of the frustrations that exist regarding the dominance of the capital city. Having said that, we need a strong, thriving capital city in order for the rest of the country to benefit. In that context, a balance must be struck.

Regarding Deputy Upton's point on access, massive investment is being made in improving access to the regions, including in the five motorways that will be completed in two years. There has also been significant upscale investment by Iarnród Éireann in its rolling stock and in the rail track and there has been massive investment in bus transport, both public and private. While all the projects are not complete and there are still some difficulties, it is important to acknowledge that massive investment in recent years is already paying dividends. Within the next two to three years, we will literally transform accessibility into and out of Dublin, to the benefit of everybody in the country.

James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The time has come to have a fresh look at the way we promote tourism, in particular at the structures that are currently in place. The regional tourism boards have outlived their usefulness. Greater emphasis should be placed on the county tourism committees because members of such committees take great pride in their own area and are anxious to promote it to the best of their ability. The committees operate on a voluntary basis but should be given more teeth to promote the local tourism product.

We must also examine the marketing of tourism throughout the country. In particular, funding for marketing is insufficient. We are not getting our message across in Europe and fewer visitors are coming here as a result. I know we have the honey pots but they have been in place for many years.

Séamus Kirk (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy has made his point well. I ask him to allow the Minister to respond.

James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Other areas should be promoted and developed.

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Very substantial changes to the tourism structures and bodies have been made in recent years. Tourism Ireland was established and is working on an all-Ireland basis, with buy-in from our colleagues in Northern Ireland. Fáilte Ireland also has expanded its remit quite substantially. Clearly, it is not possible for every county to promote itself internationally. The funding required for that would be way beyond the capacity of any county. Therefore, it is important the programmes being shaped in the tourism agencies are developed in a holistic way and are successful in attracting people to the island of Ireland.

Many of the local tourism bodies do an excellent job in producing high-quality brochures which invite tourists to their areas, where high-quality products are available. They are also targeting specific markets. For example, we see growth in walking tourism and hill climbing, which is a massive business compared to what it was a few years ago. The Deputy is correct that sports tourism is also growing. We discussed earlier the potential in terms of conferences coming to this country. We could do much more in that area.

The review of the plans for the next few years is indicative of the fact that things have been going very well because the targets that were set up to last year were well achieved. We went through the 8 million tourist barrier in 2007 for the first time, which is double the population and a magnificent achievement. The spend in total revenue is around €5.8 billion to €6 billion so it is a very important industry to this country. Approximately 240,000 people are employed in the total hospitality area so it is probably one of the largest employers in the country, if not the largest. I agree with the Deputy that we need to keep the tourism and marketing spend well focused to continue to develop and enhance the tourism numbers to the country and to have the ability to be flexible, as we need to be this year when there are serious international pressures on people's ability to travel, unlike in previous years.