Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

If the country needs anything at this time, it needs jobs, hope and a feel-good factor. Tourism can help provide all of these. The Minister of State has responsibility for tourism and sport in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, and tourism is the area which can produce jobs almost instantaneously with a little help and innovative thinking. Notwithstanding the weather we have in Ireland, the majority of tourists come not for a suntan but for our sites, our culture, our history, our rivers and our lakes and we can encourage their numbers to increase in the years ahead.

I congratulate the Minister and Minister of State on their efforts to date, but we cannot rest on our laurels. It is pleasing to learn that tourist numbers have increased, but we must be realistic. There are problems that need to be addressed urgently. We should not fool ourselves about Ireland being good value for tourism. It may be slightly better value than it was, but much of the product is still overpriced. Consumers, whether Irish or European, are now restricted to a limited budget and value for money is at the top of their agenda. It is disappointing to see some hotels and restaurants continuing to charge way over the top. Reference was made earlier to hotels which dramatically increase prices when concerts are on or for race weeks, etc. The Minister of State should outlaw this practice.

The Minister of State has often spoken about the Olympics and the possibility of spin-off tourism for Ireland. I watched "Oireachtas Report" last night which covered some of the debate in the other House on this subject. It appears the statistics and figures with regard to this spin-off are disappointing. I urge the Minister of State to keep up the efforts on the basis that there will be millions of people wandering around London during the Olympics. We had hopes of some teams doing their training in Ireland, but if that is not successful, many of the visitors to the Olympics should be encouraged to come to Ireland through additional marketing.

It is easy for me to spend the Government's money for it, but sometimes it is a question of spending money that otherwise would not have been spent. People come to Ireland in their thousands on the ferries every year and bring great business here. Would it be possible for these people to get some excise relief on fuel they buy for their vehicles while here? If they did not come and spend their money here, this fuel would not have been purchased. Would it be possible to provide an excise rebate scheme for people who bring their cars over on the ferries, a voucher or some other system that would not be abused? This might be a way of encouraging people to bring their cars to Ireland. I know that when the Cork-Swansea ferries stops its services at the end of the season, this causes major difficulties. We need to consider what can be done in that regard.