Dáil debates

Thursday, 21 March 2013

4:05 pm

Photo of Kevin HumphreysKevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, for taking this topical issue which relates to a matter in the constituency of Deputy Eoghan Murphy and myself. I should point out that I have already raised this issue with the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Rabbitte, and have raised my concerns about the proposal with the ESB.

Number Twenty Nine, Georgian House Museum, is located at the corner of Merrion Square and Fitzwilliam Street. It is currently ranked 14th of over 200 attractions in Dublin on the TripAdvisor website. Current opening hours at the museum are excellent, it operates all year and provides, for a small fee of €6, guided tours to tourists and citizens wishing to learn about Georgian household living in the late 19th century. Visitor numbers at the museum rose by 10% in 2012 because of rather than despite the interactive guided tours. The building was first occupied by Mrs Olivia Beatty, the widow of a prominent Dublin wine merchant. A visit to the house gives young and old alike a chance to experience what life was like for the fortunate who lived in such elegant townhouses and the less fortunate who worked in them.

The ESB has used the building since 1928. The Minister of State will be aware that the controversial demolition in the 1960s of the Georgian street scape on Fitzwilliam Street for the ESB headquarters was a major loss to our built heritage in Dublin. The ESB committed to restoration of Number Twenty Nine in the 1980s as a condition of the development of office blocks facing onto Baggott Street and James's Street East in the 1980s. The exhibition is a partnership between the ESB and the National Museum of Ireland and has played an important role since 1991 in making more accessible the history of late Georgian Dublin. Despite savings of €250,000, the ESB wants to downgrade the museum to seasonal opening hours without guides, which would destroy the unique attraction.

In the year of The Gathering, as we seek to improve our visitor offerings, it would be disastrous to cut opening hours from a six day, Tuesday to Sunday, 49 week interactive guided tour offering to an unguided five day, seven month, April to October, offering. Many believe this will lead to eventual closure of the house. For example, while March, owing to St. Patrick's Day, is one of our busiest times, the museum would under the ESB proposal be closed at that time next year when thousands of tourists would be in town. The tour guides, who would lose their jobs under the current proposals, appreciate that the ESB must make savings and agreed in 2012 to a 5% pay cut. While they have put a cost-saving proposal to the ESB, it has not been taken on board.

It would be embarrassing to lose such a tourism gem over such a small saving. I ask that the Minister liaise across Departments and the ESB to ensure the guided tours and opening hours are not lost. Our climate does not encourage tourists. This museum is an all-weather historical tourist attraction, which has been building in terms of attraction year on year. The cost saving proposal put forward by the tour guides would achieve the savings required. In this year of The Gathering, we must treasure these gems and build on them.

Photo of Ciarán CannonCiarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I am taking this issue on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar. I wish to advise the House at the outset that the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport has no responsibility in this matter.

Number Twenty Nine, Fitzwilliam Street is a restored Georgian house which is run as a museum of Dublin home life in the period 1790 to 1820. It is owned by the Electricity Supply Board and run by it in association with the National Museum of Ireland. Issues relating to the opening hours of the venue or the provision of guided tours, are commercial considerations for the ESB and the Minister has no role in the matter. The ESB, as a commercial entity, must organise its resources in the manner it considers appropriate. It is hoped that it can continue to make this important museum as accessible as possible to visitors and Dubliners alike.

Dublin has a comprehensive range of tourism product, including State assets such as the various branches of the National Museum, the National Gallery, Dublin Castle and Kilmainham Gaol. There are also the long-established visitor attractions, such as the Book of Kells at Trinity College, Christchurch, the Chester Beatty Library and Malahide Castle. In more recent times, Dublin has seen the growth of a range of new visitor attractions, such as the Guinness Storehouse and the Dublinia Viking Centre. These attractions, old and new alike, draw hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. That is not to say we are complacent about the tourism product in Dublin. The Government, through Fáilte Ireland, has continued to invest in the improvement of Dublin's visitor attractions. Last year, a redeveloped Malahide Castle was opened. Approval has also been given for an investment to enhance the presentation of the Book of Kells at Trinity College. To ensure that visitors really can get the maximum value from Dublin's tourism assets, a special walking trail is currently being developed through some of the top cultural and heritage sights of the city centre, running across the city from College Green to Kilmainham. To be called "The Dubline", it will give tourists greater accessibility to Dublin past and present.

Dublin's location is also a natural advantage, which is now being fully utilised as a tourism asset. As a coastal destination on the edge of the countryside, Dublin can be a city where visitors can engage in city-type activities such as museums and shopping or avail of an exciting array of water activities and outdoor pursuits in close proximity to the city. We want to utilise Dublin's natural attractions and will be doing so by marketing the city as "Dublin Plus", a city that is urban and rural and for night and day. The role of technology is now of major importance in bringing a city to life for the modern visitor. Last month, a new app was launched as part of the Discover Ireland campaign to enhance further the experience of those who come to Dublin. The new app uses the latest in GPS and camera technology to allow tourists to become their own guide as they navigate the city's attractions. In a further enhancement to the technology assets available to tourists, free Wifi connections are provided at our main tourism offices.

All of the larger Dublin hotels have hosted a significant amount of North American business, with some hotels observing particularly strong levels of US visitors. Across all hotels, there was a good, strong mix of increased domestic, Northern and UK visitors. Many of the most popular hotels were at 100% occupancy, an increase on their 2012 performance, which was considered excellent at the time. These figures indicate the strength of the Dublin tourism product and reflect the quality of the support being provided by Government to the tourism sector in the capital. We look forward with great anticipation to a strong overall performance for tourism in Dublin for 2013, based on the quality and range of Dublin's visitor attractions and the continuing success of The Gathering Ireland initiative.

Photo of Kevin HumphreysKevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I am disappointed with the Minister of State's response. The ESB is a semi-State company. The response given is a typical Civil Service one. I do not mean that as a personal criticism as I am sure the Minister of State only had sight of the reply before coming into the Chamber.

The biggest tourist attraction we have in this country is our people. To downgrade Number Twenty Nine to an unguided attraction would be devastating. It is important people have access to a person who can give them the history of the house whether in English, Irish or French. The tour guides involved are skilled and take personal pride in their work. They also acknowledge the great work done by the ESB. These people are not seeking to look after their own needs. They want to ensure development of a quality product that will attract more tourists to this city and country.

As I stated earlier, I am disappointed with the quality of the response. It is a standard response, with little understanding of what tourism is about. As I said earlier, the tour guides are prepared to make further sacrifices to ensure the financial viability of this museum. Dublin is famous for its Georgian buildings. It is important we have people who can inform visitors about how families in those houses lived and about the people who served in them in none too good circumstances.

I ask that the Minister of State report back on this matter to the Minister. I believe a workable solution can be found. The staff are more than willing to engage. This is a unique product which interprets Georgian living conditions at the time. It is a product that must be protected and developed not only for the staff but in terms of the number of tourists it can attract to this city.

4:15 pm

Photo of Ciarán CannonCiarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate the concerns expressed by the Deputy and they are certainly valid. As I pointed out in the response, No. 29 Fitzwilliam Street is owned by the ESB, which is an independent commercial entity and must organise its resources in the manner it considers appropriate. However, I will certainly share the Deputy's concern with both Ministers, Deputies Varadkar and Rabbitte, in an effort to resolve the situation and will respond to him as soon as we have further news on the matter.