Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I welcome the Minister. I also welcome the Bill and wish the new agency, Fáilte Ireland, every success. I am delighted to have a chance to speak on the Bill. I come from a hotel business background. Members, therefore, will have a job to stop me talking about this sector, about which I am so enthusiastic. I am also enthusiastic about the commitment of the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Deputy O'Donoghue, to the tourism sector.

The new agency comes at a critical time for tourism, although I do not think its setting up – useful and necessary as it may be – will have much impact. Much more critical to the future will be the strategy review of tourism that the Minister has instituted, in respect of which I wish him the best of luck. I have every confidence that something can happen from it.

The last time we took a root and branch look at the needs of tourism the results were truly spectacular. That occurred in the late 1980s after nearly 20 years of virtual stagnation that dated from the outbreak of the Troubles in the North in the late 1960s. By the late 1980s it was clear that tourism was a tired product that was going nowhere. We saw the writing on the wall, as did those involved in it, but for once did what was necessary at the time. In one of the actions we took we were helped along by Europe, in particular the Commissioner with responsibility for competition at the time, Mr. Peter Sutherland. He forced airline competition onto the European agenda and also introduced competition in other ways. The success of companies such as Ryanair and Easyjet is directly due to the doors he opened for them. He could not have done this without the type of competition he sought to develop.