Martin Conway (Fine Gael)

The measures in the programme for Government and the jobs initiative already have given all those in the tourism industry significant hope. County Clare is very reliant on tourism and hotels, restaurants and other service providers there have been given a boost by the jobs initiative. These significant measures are reflective of the fact that tourism, the natural beauty of the countryside and our human resources are some of the few raw materials we have. In its first nine weeks in office, the Government has demonstrated a serious commitment to tourism, the likes of which we have not seen before for some time. We have been lucky with the visits of both Queen Elizabeth II and US President, Mr. Obama, which gave us an international tourism bounce.

In County Clare there is a campaign to have the Cliffs of Moher elected as one of the seven wonders of nature. If successful, the domino effect for the national tourism product would be phenomenal. Other countries are putting massive resources into their own campaigns. In Poland, for example, police are giving out leaflets encouraging people to vote for its short-listed site. Will the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Ring, who I know is proactive in promoting domestic tourism, assign a senior departmental official to work with the Cliffs of Moher campaign to ensure it wins a place among the seven. Such a win would be a serious strike in the right direction for marketing tourism and Ireland Inc. as a whole.