Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

I ask the Leader if he would consider having another early debate on Irish tourism, perhaps during Private Members' time. Tourism is one of the big income earners for this country. In fact, it is vital to the economy. One of tourism's main attractions is that the dividend from it is not overly centralised and is distributed right throughout the country. One of the main planks of the Good Friday Agreement was that we were able to market the island of Ireland through Tourism Ireland. If we look back to the days of Bord Fáilte, no doubt it met significant challenges, particularly because of the Troubles in Northern Ireland which it endeavoured on each occasion to overcome. I would like to see an imaginative approach to helping tourism as the international market has become exceptionally competitive. Members of a certain age should cast their minds back to the An Tóstal festival in the 1950s which had a major impact in regenerating tourism as it brought all the different local and national organisations involved together. I want such a homecoming festival to be initiated again. Some discussions have taken place in this regard but I would like to see this Chamber participating in them too. I accept each day the Chamber must examine the current economic difficulties and irregularities, of which we should be rightly ashamed, but at the same time we must achieve a balance in our debates. Tourism is one area where the old concept of meitheal can be reintroduced. This Chamber must debate this in a positive context, particularly with having a homecoming festival initiated by 2012, if not by next year.