Alan Kelly (Labour)

I welcome the Minister to the House and I wish him and his officials, whom I know, well. When it comes to speaking about tourism, I am effectively an insider trader in that I left Fáilte Ireland to become a Senator. I worked in tourism for more than nine years with Bord Fáilte and Fáilte Ireland. From that point of view, my comments are based on my beliefs as regards where tourism needs to go and the areas that need to be addressed. I do so based on the knowledge I gained during those years and from a perspective which may be a little different from others.

I am the Labour Party spokesperson on tourism and from a policy point of view I am supportive of anything the Minister may do based on comments made here today. The Minister will not be challenged by me for making difficult choices and putting in place policies that will assist in the promotion of tourism in the future. It is worth noting that tourism is an important part of our economy. I will not list all the relevant figures as the Minister has already done so. Tourism hits the tentacles of all-Ireland in cultural, regional and integration terms in respect of services and the employment of 250,000 people. It also assists people from a cultural point of view to adopt to a more modern Ireland and Europe, which is important. Tourism is a €6 billion industry which provides huge economic benefits for Ireland. It is important to point this out.

However, it is an industry which faces many challenges that need to be addressed. While there was an increase in visitor numbers to Ireland last year there was no actual increase in international revenue, which is a concern. It is a greater concern now given the position of the US dollar. An opening exists for us to enter the eastern European market which has experienced huge progress during the past number of years.

Senator Ellis referred to short breaks. Short breaks is the way to go; they are what is pushing the market along. More investment in this area is necessary particularly in respect of the eastern European market. The most important aspect of Irish tourism is ensuring the Irish experience is maintained. It is as simple as that. It is the core defining factor and we must do all we can to protect it. Competitiveness is a key issue from a value for money point of view. Some 34% of people surveyed by Fáilte Ireland were not happy with our services, an increase of 10% during the past couple of years. We all know what is happening. How we address the issue is the problem.

I believe the Minister should encourage the relevant agencies to work with marketing groups, in particular, the Irish Hotels Federation, to ensure they do not view as negative having to sell their perishable goods at a reduced rate before they go out of date. They should consider this a positive step. I have been told they would rather offer bed nights for free than drop their prices. They could learn a little from the airline industry. There is value to be had in hotels. However, the sector as a whole needs to be looked at. A little bit of encouragement in this regard would not go astray.

A key issue in respect of tourism is that of regionalism. The regions are not getting the bang for their buck from tourism; it is as simple as that. Dublin Tourism's share of the market increased by 32% from 1990 to 2008. The agency is doing a good job and fair play to it. However, Shannon and the mid-west region lost 7% of its share during the same period. That is a significant issue. The east coast and midlands area had no growth last year in terms of visitor numbers to the region and the mid-west region was down 5% in this regard. Issues in regard to Shannon aside, this is significant.

We have a hole in the doughnut effect in respect of tourism, namely, the southwest does well, as does the eastern corridor of Dublin, the southeast and Galway but, the middle of Ireland, the spine of the country, is not getting its bang for its buck. We need policies that will encourage more people to visit that region.

On the question of productivity and product marketing, I am fully supportive of incentive schemes such as the Shannon corridor scheme, be they tax orientated or otherwise, that would promote the mobilisation and marketing of products that will encourage tourists to visit the spine of Ireland. It is important the Minister does this.

People need to realise that domestic tourism is far more important to the middle of Ireland than is international tourism. Some 70% of people who visit counties Offaly, Tipperary and so on are domestic tourists. We need policies that will support this trend. Mr. John Concannon is doing a fine job. I appreciate what he is doing in terms of spreading marketing value over the whole year. Also, I admire his campaign which seeks to show people the difference between travelling abroad and holidaying in Ireland. I believe we need to make short breaks longer by extending them by one day either side. This will help to create more share for the region.

I am interested to hear the Minister's views in regard to the role of organisations. There has been considerable change in organisational roles in respect of tourism in Ireland. We now have Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. At a number of conferences I attended I heard the joke about the two Irishmen who went into a room to set up a tourism agency and came out having set up three agencies. We were supposed to create an all-Ireland tourism agency. We now have three agencies. I ask that the Minister examine this issue while accepting it will have to be considered in co-operation with our colleagues in Northern Ireland. It is necessary that we have only one tourism agency.

There is an overlap between Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland in terms of central services and marketing. For instance, Fáilte Ireland is responsible for marketing golf in America while Tourism Ireland is responsible for implementing it. Also, marketing Ireland in America is the responsibility of Tourism Ireland. That does not make sense. The chief executive of Tourism Ireland agrees with me in this regard. This issue needs to be addressed quickly. There are overlaps in other areas also when it comes to issues such as event management and so on. I do not believe this is acceptable in this day and age.

Dublin Tourism should come under the umbrella of Fáilte Ireland. I never understood how the campaign to keep it separate was successful. I understand Dublin is a destination in its own right but I do not believe it should be dealt with by a separate agency. I accept Dublin Tourism is doing an excellent job for Dublin. However, it has a larger remit given Dublin is the main gateway to Ireland. There is no way we will increase tourism levels in the east coast and regions to the required levels if Dublin Tourism does not facilitate people spending an extra night in the midlands rather than in Dublin. This is not happening and will not happen unless the structure is changed. I say that with regret because I admire what Dublin Tourism does for Dublin. However, it must change if tourism in the rest of Ireland is to be successful.

Shannon Development is effectively the mid-west tourism agency in all but name. I can understand the need for an interim measure and accept Shannon Development has a property portfolio. Will a change be made in this area in the future? It has two boards which is confusing. I ask the Minister to examine this. Fáilte Ireland has three offices in Dublin, one of which has been vacant for a year. I do not know how much rent is paid for it but is it necessary to maintain it? What is it being used for? That is a concern.

There are many other issues I wish to draw to the Minister's attention and perhaps as spokesperson I will get the opportunity to sit down with him to discuss these on another occasion. I will, however, touch on two or three. The agencies concerned cannot do the amount of work they wish to simply because tourism touches so many different departments. I welcome what the tourism review has done and I encourage the Minister to keep it going. Often executives cannot achieve what they wish because there is not enough cohesion between Government agencies and Departments. Blockage of communication in this area should be prevented.

I encourage the Minister to maintain funding for secondary events throughout the country because they have a considerable impact. The deregulation of self-catering was a mistake. The decision was not favoured by executives and it will have an impact in rural Ireland where the accommodation bank has been cut by three-quarters in some areas. If one goes to the Discover Ireland website, despite whatever anybody claims, one will not always be able to get the accommodation one wants in rural areas. That is a negative and retrograde step which I hope the Minister can rectify.

I agree with Senator Ellis regarding the area of heritage. Formerly we had policies or strategies that were successful in the areas of events and sports. Although Rally Ireland was excellent I am not sure that we get the bang for buck for the golf events that are brought into the country.