Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

Yes, e-commerce. The Government is committed to e-commerce. We have to do it that way. Fáilte Ireland has a marvellous database for the entire world. Since becoming Minister of State a number of people have approached me and people are thinking outside the box. The problem is that it takes money to run some of the projects and we do not have that money. Film crews want to make films on festivals and cultural events but the best we can offer them is whatever Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland have in respect of scenery and beauty. Whatever is available on their own files is made available to them. We have a database showing that we have assisted companies, hotel operators and the industry itself. We will have to do that better and smarter. We have to do some things the old way but we also have to do things in new ways. The old ways cannot be forgotten. What Senator Tom Sheahan said was correct that we cannot go to the market.

Senator Paschal Mooney mentioned the problem of attending events. As soon as one attends an event there is a freedom of information request. That is the major problem and we must be careful.