Donie Cassidy (Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Mooney, the spokesperson for the Government side, for allowing me to speak first for eight minutes. Senator Mooney will take 12 minutes. I welcome the Minister to the House at a difficult time for the tourism industry. When we look back on 2009 it will be seen as one of the most difficult years ever experienced in tourism. Everybody was looking forward to the early part of 2010 but unfortunately, the volcanic ash cloud decimated the industry, including hotels, restaurants and guest houses. We are thankful that the industry has picked up from June, with the Minister correctly pointing out that numbers of American visitors have picked up.

This industry has significant job potential and employs up to 300,000 people, so the maintenance of employment and opportunities for new positions are absolutely crucial issues and the priority of the Government. They are also a priority for every Member of the Dáil and Seanad, regardless on which side of the Houses they sit.

Opportunities which had presented themselves in financial matters for the industry have been seriously affected by the announcement from Bank of Scotland (Ireland) that it is to withdraw from the Irish market. I understand up to 40% of all the hotel accounts in Ireland are in that bank; I would guess that 80% of all new hotels built in Ireland from 2004 are Bank of Scotland (Ireland) customers. This will leave significant challenges in the industry as businesses may have to change current and loan accounts for the long term.

The ground rules at the Department of Finance were known to everybody, with the thresholds clear for investors in the industry who would employ significant numbers. All the projections for businesses took into account the Government's policy at the time. However, the Department of Finance has begun to row back thresholds; two years ago it was up to €250,000 that could be repaid without being liable to tax but in the last budget an €80,000 threshold was introduced. Anybody who knows the business and is worth their salt knows a hotel bedroom could not be erected for less €100,000 from 2004 to 2008. Without fear of contradiction I contend that 90% of the hotels in Ireland built from 2004 to 2009 will not be in a position to make complete financial repayments within the next 50 years. The Government has put in place retrospective legislation, which we always assumed would never happen. It is decimating an industry with massive job potential. I do not know if the Department of Finance realises the damage it is doing to the tourism industry and the undermining of the current Minister as she faces challenges.

One advantage for the industry is that quality has substantially improved. I thank the Minister for her kind remarks and acknowledgement in her major address to the Upper House on the tourism industry. There is quality in the product available to attract people to our country. The Government led by Charles Haughey and Ray MacSharry made tourism one of the three planks for recovery in our economy in 1987, and it was proven correct. When families, multinationals or other investors place confidence in a destination because of the ground rules from the Government, the industry can only be decimated if those rules are changed. There is no way most people will be able to pay the principal of loans because of what Department of Finance officials have done in the past two budgets.

I know exactly what I am speaking about because I know many colleagues in the industry. I know the industry well because my family is heavily involved with it. Many people are in the position I describe and no further investment will take place in the next five or ten years because the Department of Finance has changed ground rules relevant to understandings and undertakings given by various Ministers for Finance to encourage people to invest in the sector.

We need more tourists to come to our country. I congratulate the Minister on meeting the chief executive of Aer Lingus and representatives from Ryanair. Aer Lingus is the flagship carrier of our country and has been a successful company over the years. Ryanair is the number one airline in Europe and Mr. Michael O'Leary is one of the top business people in Ireland and is one of the greatest achievers and success stories in most of our lifetimes.

Senator Coghlan is from Kerry, which has the fantastic destination of Killarney, and I congratulate everybody associated with the Irish Open, including Fáilte Ireland, the 3 mobile phone company and the European tour for the wonderful event. I congratulate the Minister, who was present to see it all happen and participate. I did not believe the €10 air tax was a barrier but people insist that it is; if so, we should have a trial of two years. The bona fides of the proposal should be examined, as the Minister indicated, and I support her in that.

There is a shining example from Dallas and Hawaii in how to get people to come to Ireland. When "Dallas" came on our television screens, tourism to that destination increased four-fold. When "Hawaii Five-O" came on television screens, tourism to America increased 11-fold the following year. I note this because Ireland should have its own television channel on the Sky network. It could be entitled Ireland Calling and everything happening in Ireland could be beamed out. Tourists come mainly from the UK, Italy, France, Germany and Spain, and the Sky system can be beamed to all these destinations. We have all seen this when we are on holidays. I know the power of television, as 70% of the penetration in the marketing world is through television, with 20% through radio and a fragmented 10% through the print media. We should go for the masses. All the footage is available. For less than €1 million we could have our own television channel beaming out from the UK to all the countries the Minister has outlined to the House which are crucial for people continuing to travel to Ireland. I would not be surprised that if we started our own television channel we would have a 50% increase in tourism on the island of Ireland within two years.

I compliment the Minister and look forward to working with her. She is a breath of fresh air in terms of listening to proposals. She has always given us an opportunity to make our proposals and work on them, and I look forward to working with her for the duration of her portfolio in the current Government.