Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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95. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the way in which his Department will work with officials throughout Government to ensure the tourism industry is supported across all regions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23102/25]

Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I ask the Minister the ways in which his Department will work with officials throughout Government ensure that the vital tourism industry is supported across all regions and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. As I said to Deputy Connolly earlier, this is an issue that is on the way out of our Department. Last Tuesday it was finalised that my colleague, Deputy Peter Burke, will be answerable on tourism. Following the making of a Government order on Tuesday, statutory responsibility for the sector will transfer to the Minister, Deputy Burke, from 1 June. He has already had a number of engagements with key tourism stakeholders across a range of priority areas.

The programme for Government sets out a clear commitment to growing Ireland's tourism industry. Through support for Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland, we want to showcase Ireland as a high quality and accessible destination for both national and international visitors. In addition, the Government will work with Fáilte Ireland to develop a balanced regional spread of tourism throughout the country, promoting and advancing the Hidden Heartlands, Ireland’s Ancient East, the Wild Atlantic Way, and Dublin.

The Tourism Policy Framework 2025-2030 was published by the previous Government last November. I understand that the Minister has asked officials to consider how commitments in the new programme for Government align with the policy framework and to prioritise the finalisation of a new tourism policy which reflects the programme and other Government priorities. I would also like to note that Fáilte Ireland has put in place a set of regional tourism strategies out to 2027 which will be implemented by localised destination and experience development plans. These five-year plans follow a best practice destination stewardship approach, co-created and jointly managed by all key stakeholders in a destination.

In terms of ensuring that all regions benefit from overseas tourism, we know ongoing selling points for Ireland are our scenery, culture and history. Tourism Ireland will be launching a new slow tourism campaign in overseas markets in June, focused on helping people get around the regions and explore the island. In terms of the domestic market, Fáilte Ireland is continuing its investment in destination development, capital projects, marketing, and festivals across the country. Furthermore, the Minister, Deputy Burke, launched a new business events strategy on 29 April to promote the development of our world-class business events sector and realise the full economic benefits of business events for the island of Ireland.

Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Aire. Ní raibh seans agam comhghairdeas a dhéanamh leis as a phost nua sa Rialtas.

I wish to raise a number of items, the first of which is the quality of tourism statistics. Good quality data is really important for tourism policy planning and for making progress in determining where Government resources should go in tourism. There has been an issue, as highlighted in the media recently, in this regard. The Central Statistics Office, CSO, does good work in this area but there is a bit of a dispute as to what is the right data in terms of tourism. The Government has a responsibility to try to resolve this. We should explore ways to enhance the quality of our tourism statistics. We need to get good quality data that we can act on. We also need to see better collaboration between the CSO and Revenue Commissioners which already collects data from tourism businesses. The Minister mentioned Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland, both of which have a role to play there. Tourism is almost like an export business because it involves people from abroad, in the main, coming in and it is very important to reach into the regional economies in Ireland.

The second item is the tourist tax, a matter of quite a bit of debate at the moment as the Minister knows. A tourist or bed tax is becoming more and more common across the world. We have a report from the capital city taskforce which has to be funded and implemented and the tourist tax could play an important role in that regard. It is a common tool used across Europe in particular. On regional tourism, my area of Dublin Bay North has Howth, Bull Island, Dollymount, St. Anne's Park, the Casino in Marino and Fairview Park. It has lots of good, local attractions but the city of Dublin's tourism is very much events-based in the city centre. It would be useful to look at supporting suburban tourism around Dublin, not just around the country but in parts of Dublin and to develop strategies in that regard.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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There is a lot there. I thank the Deputy for his kind remarks as Gaeilge at the outset. The Deputy will be glad to know that in regard to the tourist tax, I have no role in that. That is a matter for the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and the Department of Finance. I have personal views on a tourism tax. I do not think that levying a tax on people who are trying to get into the country is a good idea. I could be proven wrong by others but that is moot point.

Regarding the CSO and the Revenue Commissioners, as a former Minister of State in the Department of tourism, I know that it is very important to have accurate data. There are always people who will dispute the numbers and how they are collected, especially for inward tourism. How do people get onto the island? Some arrive into Belfast Airport and drive down, some arrive by ferry and drive down and so on. It is a moot point but it is well made. There is probably scope for a greater level of collaboration between Revenue, CSO, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland. That is something that I will feed back to the Minister, Deputy Burke.

Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Just in relation to the tourism tax, I understand the Minister's point which, as he said, is moot but from my perspective, if I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to a European capital, the fact that I am paying a tourism tax in that city to help with its infrastructure does not deter me.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I do not think it does deter people but one of the things that local authority members should look at first is their capacity to raise revenue from existing streams rather than levying a new tax on people. Often there is a rush, for instance, to reduce the local property tax, LPT. Some people are totally opposed to the LPT and have a fundamental objection to it but at the same time, they come up with the concept of a tourism tax. The two things do not sit well together, to be honest. The Dublin local authorities have the potential to look at their own internal revenue bases first before a tourism tax is foisted on people..

Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I think we should be looking to do both. We have a report to be implemented which needs new sources of revenue. A tourism tax and other options should all be on the table because it is important for the city.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I think we will leave that matter to the Minister, Deputy Donohoe.