Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

I warmly welcome the Minister to the House. This is his first appearance in the House in his new capacity and I wish him well. I thank him for his thoughtful contribution and overview of the tourism industry.

There have been major problems in the industry following the events of 11 September and the foot and mouth disease outbreak. There is no doubt the industry suffered a serious reverse from which it has not recovered yet. Tourist numbers have increased slightly but that might have been the result of domestic take up. Competitiveness is a significant issue vis-à-vis Europe. Airline capacity from the US has reduced by 20%. The Minister visited North America recently and I hope his trip was successful. He held discussions with airline representatives and I hope that will result in increased access down the line.

I urge the Minister to allocate funds for marketing the industry, particularly in Britain. The Minister has referred in a number of speeches to the cost of doing business in Ireland, particularly when one takes into account the cost of insurance and the other factors mentioned this morning. This issue has also come up in his consultations with various interest groups. It is a huge difficulty.

We have become an expensive location and we have lost out, particularly in the German market. I come from the same part of the country as the Minister where there are beneficial German interests, such as the Liebherr group and some hotels. More marketing must be done to attract golfers, walkers and fishermen from Germany.

I listened to Senator Daly on the monitor and that is why I decided to come into the House to speak. He spoke about the jewel in the crown, Killarney National Park. It is the most wonderful place on earth. When one goes through the gates, it is like escaping to paradise while one is still alive. One could wander at will as it is cut off from the cares and worries of the world. It is great to spend time there after a couple of days here.