Mary Henry (Independent)

I welcome the Minister of State and at this late hour will not keep him long. Since he comes from a county where tourism is so important, he will understand what I am talking about.

There is apparently a huge downturn in the tourism business. I have received figures which show that bookings are down by 30% to 50%, mainly in sectors which would have booked well in advance such as the corporate sector, conventions and large groups. I keep hearing those involved in the tourism business appealing to the Minister to do something. I wondered if they could not do more themselves.

I have frequently been involved in bringing conferences to Ireland which is a very popular destination. These sorts of groups which are coming for a specific purpose are less likely to be afraid to come because of President Bush's proposed war in Iraq than many casual tourists. I am involved in one conference where the date of closure before incurring a cancellation fee is 14 March. No decision has been made in the United Nations regarding whether the United States will go to war in Iraq, regardless of whether there is a second UN declaration. It is very hard to get people to put their money down if they know they will lose it in the event of war and they feel they should not travel.

Perhaps the Minister will encourage the airlines and large hotels and conference centres to be more flexible over cancellation fees. All they need do is extend the dates by one month. It is particularly important that they do so because our competitors in the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Canada have done just this. I know the Minister cannot make private enterprises do anything but perhaps he will suggest they look to helping themselves on this very important issue. I am expecting a group from William and Mary University in July. It is important to recognise the corporate groups which come to conferences are very big spenders. Not only are we losing numbers of visitors, we are also losing big spenders.