Frank Feighan (Fine Gael)

I wish that fact to be recorded. Those tourists are not flying into the west of Ireland. They are now beginning to fly into Shannon, but most tourists are staying in Dublin. That is good, but it is creating a bigger divide. Research carried out by the Irish Tourist Industry Federation showed that the number of nights spent by tourists outside the capital in 2003 was 2.007 million fewer than in 1999. We are not merely down regarding tourists entering the country; we now have an imbalance whereby tourists are no longer leaving Dublin city. I pay tribute to the Dublin tourism industry, which has provided a better service. I get on the Dublin tourist bus, and it is great. The drivers are very friendly, and the product provided here is much improved in the last five years. However, there is an imbalance in the country. Bed and breakfast establishments and other areas in which Ireland was unique will not survive unless they get some kind of assistance. We saw how tax breaks assisted many of the major hotels and helped create a vibrant hotel industry. It is now time to consider some imaginative assistance for bed and breakfast establishments so that a fundamental part of the Irish tourism industry might survive.

We appear to be losing sight of a few issues. Where is the Irish welcome now?