Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join Senator Brennan in urging the Government to bring forward Senator Quinn's Construction Contracts Bill. We all know of many small sub-contractors who have been put out of business by unscrupulous developers and whose livelihoods have been destroyed. There is total support for the Bill and agreement on it. It is incumbent on the Government to ensure that it is put through the legislative system as quickly as possible.

I welcome the publication, yesterday, of figures showing strong growth in tourism from North America and Europe. Tourism will probably be one of the main planks of our economic recovery. We need to do everything possible during the coming year to ensure that The Gathering adds significantly to tourism numbers. It is disappointing that numbers from Britain have shown a decrease over last year, given the high profile of the visit of Queen Elizabeth. There is much work to be done in Britain in the coming year to promote tourism to Ireland. We should debate this matter again in the House.

Will the Leader invite the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to the House early in the new year to discuss how we can contribute significantly to ensuring The Gathering is the success everybody expects? The Notre Dame v.Navy American football game in Dublin this year brought more than 30,000 Americans to this country. It is an indication of what can happen when things are well planned. I welcome the fact that tourism is making a major contribution to economic recovery.

Finally, I will make a brief comment on the scaremongering over the property tax. There will be some relief-----