Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

I have always felt there was a very strong link between exports and tourism. For that reason, it is very important to ensure we continue to promote Ireland abroad wherever opportunities arise, which we have been doing exceptionally well. There is always a temptation in times of economic constraints to cut back on expenditure to develop and expand on the goodwill which exists abroad.

If people have a particular loyalty to a country and if they see one of its commodities abroad, they will buy it despite the competition which exists. There was one great example of that, namely, Aer Lingus. Over the years people who travelled from abroad and who were of Irish extraction invariably sought to travel with Aer Lingus when it was the national airline. When that ceased to be the case and when it cut certain routes to Shannon Airport, which had a major impact on Shannon, I do not know how many people I met in America who said their loyalty to Aer Lingus was gone and that they saw no difference between it and any other airline if it could pull a service and harm a whole region.

The same applies to any Irish goods on sale abroad. We obviously have a very good name in terms of the product we provide and we are able to compete. More important, the brand we have is strong and holds on to that loyalty about which I spoke.

Looking back at some of the debates we have had, in particular around St. Patrick's Day when Ministers travel abroad to represent Ireland, the view has been expressed that should not happen - in other words, we should cut back on that expenditure. That makes no sense whatsoever. The people inviting representatives from Ireland are the prospective customers for the products we are selling. There are 40 million people of Irish extraction in North America. That gives us an inroad and a degree of exclusivity in that market. However, if one does not service that market in a small way by sending representatives abroad, it brings us back to the example I gave of Aer Lingus. The very same thing will apply to the customers who show loyalty to us from that market. We need to be very careful that we sustain and develop the loyalty we have and that we recognise the global network at our disposal through our diaspora. Above all else we should try to maintain the qualities we have had in the past in the context of tourism. In other words what we have is our strength. If we try to copy and ape other countries with something different, then we lose the very market to which we have access.