Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I move amendment No. 29:

In page 18, subsection (1), line 13, to delete "6 months" and substitute "3 months".

As currently drafted, this Bill would require the National Tourism Development Authority to publish its annual report by 30 June each year. Two things will have happened by that time. First, the next year's tourism season will be half way through. Second – and this is the interesting one – the Houses of the Oireachtas will have risen for the summer recess. The publication of the annual report of a State body is an important occasion from a strategic point of view. It enables us to look back on what has been achieved with a view to adjusting policy or changing course for the future. In tourism, it is vital to learn the lessons of each year as quickly as possible. If the annual report is published by the end of March, rather than the end of June, the essential difference is that virtually the whole season will still be in front of us and there is still time to take appropriate action. The annual report can then have an effective influence on how we manage the tourism sector from year to year.

As far as the Oireachtas is concerned, publication of the annual report on the date now proposed would make it impossible for the report to receive the attention of either House of the Oireachtas until the following October at the earliest – some ten months after the end of the year under review and with another tourism season having passed in the meantime. We cannot have reporting on such a time scale and still claim to be applying accountability to tourism. I referred earlier to one or two State bodies which slipped through the net. Some bodies tend to be rather laggardly in this regard, including RTE. When I checked the position a few years ago, the publication date was 1 December, 11 months after the end of the relevant year. As of today, 11 months and three days after the end of last year, the RTE report has still not been published. Some action is essential in relation to such laggardly behaviour. In the particular case of tourism, competent modern practice demands earlier publication. I urge the Minister to accept my amendment.