Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister, Deputy O'Donoghue, to the House and wish him well in his new portfolio. It is ironic that he has come from a portfolio requiring zero tolerance to one where considerable tolerance will be required.

I understand that the Minister was at the World Tourism Conference in London yesterday. It is important that we be represented at conferences such as that, especially as it was held in the UK, which is still our major market in so far as tourism in concerned. Marketing in the UK is the key to the development of tourism in this country.

Like Senator Mansergh, I welcome the fact that Tourism Ireland has been set up and is marketing the island on an all-Ireland basis. It is very positive to the development of the Good Friday Agreement. It is also opportune that it coincides with the merger between Bord Fáilte and CERT, which brings together two of the major players in the tourism sector.

The tourism sector is very fragmented and requires much greater cohesion. Dúchas, the Leader programme and regional tourism organisations distribute funds which, while welcome, need to be better co-ordinated. According to those involved in the industry, the duplication of work has resulted in a waste of public funds. For example, the various tourism bodies have produced large quantities of duplicate brochures which the market does not have the capacity to distribute. There is a need for a central vision and cohesion in the tourism sector. I call on the Minister to take this opportunity to produce a programme that will benefit the industry. I also hope he will bring together all the organisations involved.

Signage still presents a major difficulty for the tourism sector. Any Senators who depended on the signage in the country to help in their campaigns for election to this House would not have done well. The problem is not being addressed in a cohesive and structured manner. I call on the Minister to deal positively with this aspect.