Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

Tourism is important and the hotel reliefs have caused difficulties, but they have also ensured we now have a sizable modern hotel stock and it is difficult to see how direct State investment could have procured that stock.

Let us consider where we can achieve growth in the coming years. One crucial area for growth and jobs will be tourism. It will be vital if we are to lift domestic demand from the doldrums. We know the large volume of bank debt is weighing heavily not only on the State and the banking system but on thousands of small businesses throughout Ireland. This weight of debt means the expansion of domestic demand and the stimulation of more consumer activity is difficult. One obvious substitute for this would be an increase in the volume of tourism and visitors to the country who would spend money and increase the volume of domestic demand.

We took important initiatives in this budget to secure that objective through the relaxation of the air travel tax and we took important initiatives on the minimum wage. I note Deputy Noonan has returned from Brussels and has announced that Fine Gael will reverse the minimum wage decision. I would like to ask Deputy Noonan one question, although perhaps I should ask it outside the House under the conventions. Did he discuss that issue with President Barroso yesterday? He says he is free to change it. When we discuss the question of tourism, we should note that we have this infrastructure in place and it is something that can be built upon and developed. I challenge any Senator to establish how else it could have been established. Certainly, it could not have been established by direct State investment or by setting up a State hotel company.

As Senators have noted, from time to time issues arise about particular tax reliefs. A case was made by several Senators in the health care area. I do not prejudge the issue and it is not in this budget but were one to introduce a tax relief for primary medical care centres, it would be a property-based tax relief.