Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

I cautiously welcome the news that the economy has performed in line with expectations. While it is a positive sign, we should not get carried away because there are, unfortunately, a number of potential developments that may impact on our future economic recovery. The first is the situation in Greece where, as we saw yesterday, the anger shows no sign of abating. If that contagion spreads to other Mediterranean countries, it could impact on our economic recovery.

The second issue is a separate matter relating to the United Kingdom. Anyone who has been following the election campaign there will have been struck by the absence of discussion of the elephant in the room, the state of the UK economy. The first thing the government which is elected will have to do, regardless of its colour, is to introduce a budget and its impact on this country will be significant. As our exporters depend heavily on the UK market, I worry about its impact on the economy and particularly jobs.

On a related matter, there is also the impact the UK budget will have on people's discretionary spending, particularly with regard to tourism. One of our most important tourism markets is the United Kingdom. I welcome the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, Deputy Hanafin's announcement this morning of a €20 million fund for marketing Ireland in the United Kingdom. It will help. With the forthcoming economic contraction in the United Kingdom and the ongoing disruption caused by Eyjafjallajökull, we could have a very difficult summer; therefore, we need to send the message that Ireland is open for business and that if people get stuck here, we will look after them. We must learn lessons from what happened last month when many transport providers were unprepared for what was an unprecedented occurrence. The Minister should invite representatives of the Irish Aviation Authority, the airlines and the ferry companies to meet her to ascertain what measures they are putting in place to ensure future interruptions will be dealt with properly.