Results 9,661-9,680 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (Revised) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: It would make no difference.

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (Revised) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: I am told that the carry-over on the sports side relates to the indoor arena. On the high performance strategic plan, high performance is specifically included as an issue for examination in the context of the sports policy review. On the Deputy's fair question in regard to the Moran report and the €300,000 cost in that regard, this money is not available but it has to be found. It...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (Revised) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: Yes, it is. We spend 99.9% of our budget.

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (Revised) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: The overall envelope for tourism this year will be €122 million, including €109 million in current funding and €13 million in capital funding. This represents a 1% increase on 2016 and will assist our overseas marketing efforts in the context of the challenges posed by Brexit. The €122 million earmarked for the tourism programme in 2017 will allow Fáilte...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (Revised) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: This year will be a tougher year for tourism but I am confident it will be a good year. We have set some fairly demanding targets for tourism in the coming years which I believe we can meet. On the budgets, the Tourism Ireland budget has been increased by €1 million. I accept that will not keep the agency happy and that it is looking for substantially larger increases, in particular...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (Revised) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: I would like to be able to do that but we cannot increase the budget in every area. We have increased it by a small amount but we will be pushing to increase it more because this is a crisis area. There are so many issues involved, like maintaining the common travel area and looking for new markets. The latter is probably where we are going to have to try to meet our targets because we are...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (Revised) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: I am not sure about a new tourism policy per sebut obviously we are adjusting it. The new tourism policy was launched in 2015, which was pre-Brexit. While we may not be launching a new tourism policyper se, the Deputy can take it that Brexit is going to prompt a new policy from the tourism agencies anyway. As I said, the current policy is just over two years old but we will have to have a...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (Revised) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: Yes, the most recent study which was commissioned by Fáilte Ireland and carried out by Deloitte found that the reduction in VAT receipts from pre-cut levels was around €120 million but due to the employment gain of 30,000, there was a complementary increase in income tax and a decrease in social welfare costs totalling €165 million. The reduced VAT rate has actually...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (Revised) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: That is a capital scheme for tourist product development and the Deputy is quite right - it is down by 20%. We are going to look for that back under the mid-term capital review. That is the situation there.

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (Revised) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: That review is actually coming up now, not in the latter part of this year. That said, the payments would not be released until the latter part of this year at the earliest.

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (Revised) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: We are looking at all sorts of contingencies at the moment. The plans are not published but we are looking at various contingencies in various situations. I am not sure if they can be made public but I will find out.

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (Revised) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: Yes, certainly.

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (Revised) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: I hate to say this, but I have a fair amount of sympathy for what the Deputy has said. In principle, I thoroughly approve of the 9% VAT rate because of the benefits for certain areas in employment terms and in the hospitality sector. I have not conducted any scientific or forensic research on this but there is a widespread feeling that some people, institutions or businesses are benefitting...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (Revised) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: That is correct but, ultimately, I will not be making that decision, so it is easier for me to say that I am sympathetic with the Deputy's point of view. However, for quite some time I have considered it extremely useful. Weekly in my constituency, and I am sure the Deputy's experience is the same, I encounter small operators running small restaurants who are terrified that it will be...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (Revised) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: Okay.

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (Revised) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: I am not aware of any. I do not believe we have one. The Deputy feels there would be a benefit from it, but we tend to fund the agencies which have been very successful in producing projects. The Deputy mentioned the Wild Atlantic Way. The tourism agencies created the fantastic ideas and projects such as the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland's Ancient East and Dublin's "A Breath of Fresh Air"....

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (Revised) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: Does the Deputy think the local authorities are short of money because they are promoting some of these things themselves already? They are doing it very well.

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (Revised) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: The Deputy might be right. I will read a briefing note about the projects and Fáilte Ireland's grant schemes for large tourism projects. It was launched in 8 June 2016 by the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, and will run from 2016 to 2020. The scheme has been designed to support large tourism projects which can demonstrate that they have significant economic potential and the...

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (Revised) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: I will put it to my Department and see what the response is.

Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (Revised) (29 Mar 2017)

Shane Ross: I do not think they intend to have a second The Gathering. I have seen it suggested somewhere and, I think, turned down because they do not think it would be a very successful repeat. I think it is too soon. It would be no harm if there was some sort of "meet in Ireland" type organisation or project. That has been mooted but is only in its infancy. I do not think there is anything...