Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to address the House today about The Gathering Ireland 2013 and outline progress on the initiative at the beginning of a very significant year for Irish tourism.

Tourism has always been an important driver of economic activity for Ireland. It is estimated that the tourism and hospitality industry employs approximately 185,000 people and every year generates in the region of ¤5.5 billion in revenue from home and abroad. It is an industry largely populated by smaller enterprises and is deeply rooted in the fabric of economic life, urban and rural.

In terms of overseas visits, we were fortunate to enjoy a number of years of successive growth until 2007 when the number of overseas visits reached more than 8 million. However, with the general global economic downturn, we endured a highly challenging period during which we experienced a reduction in overseas visits in each of the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 and numbers fell back to slightly more than 6 million visits. When the Government took office in 2011 it decided to place the tourism sector at the heart of its economic recovery programme. The jobs initiative introduced a lower VAT rate for key tourism services, lower PRSI rates, a visa waiver scheme and an air access strategy. We built on this initiative in the Government's Action Plan for Jobs, with continuing commitment to tourism services and investment. In addition, despite the challenging economic circumstances in which we found ourselves, we continued to provide significant resources for overseas tourism marketing activity.

These measures have worked. The number of overseas visits to Ireland increased in 2011 for the first time since 2007, reaching more than 6.5 million, an increase of 7% on 2010 levels. In addition, figures released earlier this week show this positive momentum has continued with a small increase again recorded in 2012 and all of our main markets performing very strongly and showing solid growth, with the exception of Great Britain.

While all of the Government measures I outlined were important, the time was right for an initiative of even greater significance, something that would create a new buzz and momentum for Irish tourism. Having met with the tourism agencies, I was persuaded that the idea of inviting the world to a year long celebration of everything that is best about Ireland could provide a real boost for the sector. It was in the context of the Global Irish Economic Forum in 2011 in Dublin Castle that I announced the concept of The Gathering Ireland 2013. The initiative was driven by two imperatives: first, the need to explore how the Irish at home and abroad and those with a strong interest in and affinity for Ireland could work together and contribute to our overall efforts at economic recovery; and, second, to examine ways in which Ireland and its global network could build on their existing relationship not only in economic terms, but also in terms of community and connection. The overall target of The Gathering Ireland was to attract at least 325,000 extra overseas visitors to Ireland in 2013. Assuming this target is achieved, and I am confident it will be, the initiative will generate an additional ¤170 million in revenue for the economy this year.

While the initial idea for The Gathering came from Fáilte Ireland, once the Government decided to fully commit to it I was clear that we did not want the initiative to be done by the Government as such. I wanted everyone across the country to have a part to play to help make it a successful, bottom-up initiative. Thankfully, the call to action was heeded and every county is playing its part.

In terms of how preparations for the event evolved from the initial launch, a tremendous amount of work was done throughout last year. Fáilte Ireland, the lead agency for the implementation of the initiative, put in place a project executive team to implement it and Mr. Jim Miley, the former chairman of Concern International, was appointed project director to drive the initiative forward. A project advisory group was also established with representatives from the private sector, academia, the tourism industry and the State agencies. Tourism Ireland has specific responsibility for promoting The Gathering in overseas markets and also provided staff for the project team.

The St. Patrick's Day festivities last March were used for the main overseas launch while key international tourism industry partners were invited to become part of The Gathering at Fáilte Ireland's Meitheal trade fair in April. A major domestic launch took place on Friday, 11 May 2012 in Dublin Castle at an event attended by the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, and myself.

To garner support at local level, a series of The Gathering community meetings were held throughout Ireland, providing an opportunity for people to learn more about The Gathering and how they could be part of it. More than 7,000 people attended 60 community meetings throughout the country. A website was established with information on how people could become involved, including online support for potential organisers to submit queries and download promotional material. In addition, a dedicated social media channel was established to promote the event.

In terms of resources, I was pleased to provide a specific additional ¤5 million allocation to Fáilte Ireland last year and this was ring-fenced for preparations. This allocation was primarily used for establishing the support structure and for marketing the event. That is a brief overview of the foundations of The Gathering and I will now turn to how the finished product is looking and briefly summarise the plans for the remainder of the year.

I am pleased to say that the general response from the public and all tourism stakeholders has been overwhelmingly positive and has exceeded my expectations. The latest update shows that there are almost 2,800 gatherings of all shapes and sizes taking place throughout the country. The 2013 Estimates allocations to Fáilte Ireland include ¤7 million specifically for The Gathering. This is to be used exclusively to fund the promotion, development and legacy of The Gathering. In terms of online activity, The Gathering has had more than 750,000 visits to its website. It has more than 45,000 Facebook fans and more than 10,000 Twitter followers.

I would like to refer to the series of festivals and events which are, in many ways, the keystone to the potential success of The Gathering and which help drive and generate demand to visit Ireland. I am pleased that we have a fantastic line up confirmed for The Gathering. Details of all of the events are included on The Gathering website and I urge Senators to look at the site to see the variety and spread of events taking place over the next 11 months. Numbers-wise, as I already said, there are almost 2,800 individual events confirmed but this number continues to grow. Indeed, I am aware of a large number of gatherings which are not on the website. They include clan gatherings, festivals, special sporting events, music and concerts taking place throughout the country all year long. While many events will be well-established and internationally renowned, others will be new to the festivals scene and will offer a huge variety of contemporary cultural expression. There will be large scale national festivals and events but there will also be a myriad of local gatherings taking place.

We are also supporting a targeted set of special events for The Gathering, building on our existing strengths in terms of Ireland's image overseas. An example of this is the very successful new year's event which kicked off The Gathering in Dublin. These types of events will provide a platform for the best of Irish talent and show off our host cities, towns and villages at their best.

In terms of resources, a limited amount of funding has been allocated on a once-off basis for existing festivals and events to tailor their programme, or specific elements of their programme, around the themes of The Gathering 2013. Just over ¤4 million is being provided by Fáilte Ireland to support almost 200 national and regional festivals and events during 2013. Some ¤1 million of this is additional funding has been allocated on a once-off basis for major events to tailor their programme, or specific elements of their programme, around the themes of The Gathering. Three examples of major events which are being enhanced around The Gathering theme include: the Peoples Parade, which offered up to 8,000 visitors from around the world a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lead and take part in the iconic national St. Patrick's Day parade in Dublin in a very special celebration of The Gathering; a gathering of Roses, which will take place at the Rose of Tralee Festival in the summer in Tralee, with 5,000 members of the extended Rose family invited to Tralee, including former Roses, escorts and visitors to the festival; and other established cultural events which are offering enhanced programmes this year, including the Galway Arts Festival, the Wexford Opera Festival, which is having a conference on European opera, and Listowel Writers' Week.

Outside of the regular Fáilte Ireland festivals and events budget, an additional ¤2 million fund was overseen by the city and county councils to fund The Gathering events and activities. This scheme was administered by the councils based on agreed application criteria with a key factor being the capacity to attract overseas visitors. These gatherings, divided into key county flagship events and community gatherings, are funded through a ¤1 million philanthropic donation by IPB Insurance that was matched by the Government through Fáilte Ireland in response to the enormous interest expressed nationwide. I put on the record my appreciation to IPB Insurance for taking part in and contributing to The Gathering. Many of us who were members of local authorities will be familiar with what we used to call Irish Public Bodies Mutual Insurance. It is the same company and we are very grateful to it for that support. I hope to be able to work with it in other areas where my Department will interact with local government in the coming years. Through this programme, co-funded by IPB and Fáilte Ireland, 1,322 events are being supported and these include 82 county flagship events and 1,240 local community events. Again, details of these can be found on The Gathering website.

This is just a short overview of what is in store in terms of festivals and events and, obviously, time constraints will not allow me to deal with all of them. What I will say, however, is that we hear a lot about a desire on the part of tourists for authenticity, for genuine Irish experiences and for a connection with Irish people. I am delighted that the events and festivals developed for The Gathering by Irish towns, villages and communities, celebrate what they are proud of in their own locality. I have no doubt that they will provide that genuine local Irish experience and send overseas visitors back with many rich memories.

Obviously, we can only achieve our ambitious targets for overseas visitor numbers if our main source tourism markets are aware of the initiative. For this reason, Tourism Ireland continues to develop a major consumer campaign to promote The Gathering to the people across the world who feel linked by family, friends or otherwise with Ireland. The agency's overseas activities are already showing dividends with 20 gatherings confirmed through the agency's overseas partners. Some examples include: SPAR bringing its international conference to Dublin and Killarney in May, which will involve 280 delegates from 36 countries spending six nights in Ireland; KPMG, the international financial services provider, is hosting its alumni dinner for 2013 in the Convention Centre Dublin with more than 1,000 visitors expected from overseas; and the International Pharmaceutical Federation annual congress will welcome 3,000 pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists from around the world to Dublin in August. Obviously, the immediate benefits to our economy of hosting these events is enormous. Equally important, however, is the opportunity to reap a legacy dividend in terms of future holiday plans of those who travel.

In terms of mainstream marketing activity, throughout 2013 Tourism Ireland will continue to undertake co-operative activity with the major airlines and ferry operators. In Britain, the advertisements to date have mainly featured the good value fares that are now on offer. Similar activity is under way with all of the airlines serving mainland Europe. In France, advertising campaigns in partnership with the ferry companies will run in March and April to promote car touring holidays to Ireland during the year of The Gathering. Of course, as Senators will know, last year was one of the strongest ever for visitors from the US to Ireland and we hope to grow this further in 2013 and make it a record year. A critical factor which will underpin this growth is the increase of more than 25% in the number of airline seats between Ireland and the US this summer. Co-operative marketing campaigns with all of these airlines will take place throughout the year.

Print and online advertising will also continue in all our major overseas tourism markets. In Britain alone, a series of national press advertorials reached 8.2 million in the national press in recent weeks. In the United States, a 30 second Gathering television advertisement will coincide with the broadcast of the third series of "Downton Abbey" reaching 500,000 households in the Chicago, New York and Boston areas every week. The Gathering is also being highlighted at major European trade and consumer fairs and Tourism Ireland is working in partnership with a number of online travel agents across Europe to promote the initiative. The St. Patrick's Day festivities and the programme of overseas ministerial events will again be used to publicise Ireland, with the greening of landmarks happening again throughout the world and in Dublin and in all our major towns and cities. Today, I wrote to all Ministers, county managers, city managers and the CEOs of State companies asking them to turn their landmark buildings green for the week of St. Patrick's Day. I hope they will answer that call.

These are just some examples of the overseas promotional activities that are in planning or under way but I think they show that every possible effort is being made to get the message out there that The Gathering is happening and that there has never been a better time to visit.

As I already said, there has been a fantastic response to The Gathering across the board, from local communities, voluntary bodies, public bodies, businesses and Government at national and local level. I am aware that the initiative has not been without criticism, with certain adverse comments about the event receiving widespread coverage which has, in many ways, helped to raise the profile of The Gathering. Everyone here would agree that tourism is a valuable service export. Encouraging those from overseas, whether Irish or not, to sample what we have to offer is not, in my opinion, a money-grabbing exercise, any more than exporting other goods and services. With the hotel and accommodation sector already generating additional employment since this Government came into office, with roughly 10,000 more people working in tourism, accommodation and hospitality than at the time of the general election, tourism can offer jobs to those who might otherwise face a choice between emigration and unemployment. I am certainly not ashamed of seeking to increase that employment still further by investing in The Gathering.

The New Year's Eve event in Dublin was fabulous and is something that will develop every year, getting bigger and better. Perhaps in ten years Dublin will rival Edinburgh and New York as a place to visit for New Year's Eve. I am really delighted to see many local festivals across the country that had fallen by the wayside being re-ignited. One such festival in my own constituency is the Strawberry Fair in the Strawberry Beds. Members may remember that the late Deputy Brian Lenihan used to live in the Strawberry Beds, between Lucan and Castleknock. I remember going to the Strawberry Fair as a young child but somehow it petered out over the years. As part of The Gathering, however, someone had the bright idea of starting the festival again, which will take place on 30 June this year. It is really nice to see some of those festivals around the country that died off being re-ignited. The Gathering, in many ways, has given people an excuse to do things that they had planned to do, whether that be a festival or a family reunion, but never got around to before.

The Gathering will also be important in terms of re-establishing connections, particularly among the second-generation diaspora. I have organised my family gathering and descendents of my great great grandfather, Tom Howell, a shoemaker from Kilbrien in County Waterford, are coming to our family gathering in Dungarvan in May. We have people coming from America, all over Ireland and the UK. It is an opportunity for a lot of us to get to know one another in a way we did not in the past, to reunite families and enable people to get to know the next generation that is coming along. Often, when emigration happens, people keep in touch for a generation or two but that link is lost after a third or fourth generation. This is an opportunity to introduce people to different generations and to remake those family connections which are very important.

I should also state that I firmly believe that anybody coming to Ireland this year, be it specifically for The Gathering or otherwise, will not be disappointed. If there is any doubt, early results from the latest visitor attitude survey commissioned by Fáilte Ireland makes for very encouraging reading. In 2012, 65% of those surveyed said they would highly recommend Ireland to their friends to visit and a further 32% would recommend Ireland. Furthermore, 61% plan to return in the next few years and a massive 97% would like to return again in the future. This shows that we already have a very stable tourism product that people enjoy and one that can deliver a vibrant sustainable tourism industry in the future.

It is also widely accepted that value for money has improved in Ireland. Prices here have fallen, in general, over the last couple of years while they have risen across most of the rest of western Europe. Restaurants, hotels and attractions are offering much better packages to holidaymakers than they did in the past and all of that augurs very well for the future of Irish tourism.

As I am in the Seanad, I wish to make special mention of Senator Eamonn Coghlan, my party and constituency colleague, who is organising the Senator's Cup event, which is a golfing tournament, only open to people from overseas, who will come to play golf in the Luttrellstown Castle Golf Club and the Royal Dublin Golf Club. That promises to be a great event and it is good to see somebody really taking an interest in The Gathering. Another event, about which I have spoken to the Ceann Comhairle and on which some moves are afoot, is a parliamentary or Oireachtas gathering, which may happen next autumn. That would be a gathering of parliamentarians of Irish heritage, many of whom we would have met on visits abroad. We probably said to ourselves we should meet again but never did. This would be an opportunity to invite parliamentarians from overseas who have Irish heritage to these Houses. The Ceann Comhairle will chair a committee which will make that a reality and the Whips have been asked to submit two names to be part of the working group, preferably one Deputy and one Senator because it is very important to have this House involved.

I hope I have given the House an overview of The Gathering Ireland 2013. While we have very much targeted this year, I have no doubt that the pay-off for participation will have long-term positive consequences. The many events which are offering unique and engaging experiences to visitors, may develop into annual traditions or create ongoing connections with other parts of the world. More important, the connections we strengthen and build, at home and abroad, will be the most important legacy of The Gathering Ireland 2013. I look forward to the contributions from Senators on this issue.