Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and wish him every success with his tourism policy statement which will be published shortly. In fairness, the Minister is shaping up quite well in his Department and I wish him well.

Tourism is a good brief to have because it continues to be a good news story. Without being partisan, the Fianna Fáil policy document, Tourism Towards 2015, to a certain extent informed much of the previous Minister's thinking on the development of tourism in this country. It is still the blueprint for growth and I hope the Government will continue to implement the best parts of that policy.

I rarely quote statistics as they speak for themselves, but I will refer to some. Visitor numbers are growing consistently. Overseas visitors spent an estimated €1.535 billion in the State in the first half of this year and revenue from overseas visitors grew by nearly 9%, at an additional €135 million compared to the same six month period in 2013. These are very heartening figures. The spring figures for this year are particularly good, showing a 12.3% increase. The chief executive of Tourism Ireland, Niall Gibbons, said that the increase in revenue is helping to boost employment around the country, with earnings in tourism and the travel sector from overseas travellers increasing 18% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year.

In addition, visitors are staying longer in the country, which is an important point. It is something we have been pursuing for some time. The number of nights spent in Ireland by overseas travellers increased by 13.4% in the second quarter compared to 2013, with a particular surge in the number of visitors from Great Britain. We have always said, particularly in Kerry, that the British market is hugely important. The numbers from North America are up by 9%. Overall spending by overseas visitors grew by 12% in 2013 and it appears likely that it will continue to grow. All sides of the House will welcome that and hope that it will continue.

The Gathering was clearly a huge success. Even though the numbers have continued to grow since then, it will be difficult to replicate that through a similar project.

I wish the Minister well with his projects in the south east, particularly in the Kilkenny-Waterford triangle. Hopefully, something similar might recur. The Gathering was certainly a once-off. We know that the 1916 commemorations are approaching. Clearly, that is a very important event in its own right and stands alone for all of us as a key iconic date in our nation's history. We do not want to dilute that in any way but, hopefully, the programme will be also visitor-friendly and encourage people, in something akin to The Gathering, to come to Ireland to enjoy and celebrate with us, particularly in Dublin where the 1916 Rising mainly took place.

The Wild Atlantic Way project has been referred to by the Minister. Again, I am delighted to acknowledge its success. It has been very good for counties along the western seaboard, including my own. Does the Minister plan to develop and broaden it? The initial response to it has been very good with everybody, particularly hoteliers, reporting increased figures and visitors, particularly the drive sector.

We cannot forget the rest of the country. Clearly, the western seaboard, with its beautiful scenery, is the big attraction for visitors and the south east probably comes a close second, but there is a tranche of the country, places like Leitrim and Cavan, with very beautiful scenery. Anyone who stood for the Seanad will be more than familiar with all the beauty in this country. We just do not have time to admire it but I often go back to places I saw fleetingly, and it is only now that I appreciate the fantastic beauty throughout the midlands. I suppose tackling the areas with no tourism dividend must be the Minister's next project. Hopefully, that will happen.

There are negatives. A significant negative that has been reported both statistically and anecdotally is the increasing cost of hotels. The Minister needs to address this. Hotel prices in Ireland increased by 10% in the first half of this year. The average hotel price in Ireland for that period was €101 per night. Dublin hotel prices increased by 15% in the first half of this year. I am sorry to say that my county comes out of this report very badly in terms of hotel price increases. The hotel price index, which was published in September, suggests that this trend will continue. This is something we must monitor. Clearly, hoteliers must make a profit but the Dublin hotels in particular are turning over numbers that are as high as they were in the boom years. There is no problem with bed nights. It seems to relate to trying to maximise and squeeze more profit out of it. Everybody here will be familiar with the way hotels jack up prices when any big act is playing at the O2 or any big match is being played in the Aviva Stadium. Hotels that would charge something like €79 for bed and breakfast suddenly cost in the region of €215 at the weekend just because somebody famous is in town. That is something about which we have been complaining. I do not know what level of control the Minister has over this but it is important. We must provide value for money. Those of us who have travelled in Europe and elsewhere know that it is very easy to find value for money. There is no doubt that one can get great value in Ireland if one is prepared to wait, study and use the Internet. However, some level of control must be introduced in Dublin and the tourist counties in high season or we will kill the goose that is laying the golden egg.

The Minister referred to Dublin as an area where performance has not been up to scratch and I agree with him. I live in the Minister's constituency. I have an apartment on the north side of the quays. I have witnessed the bedlam, crime and antisocial behaviour that is normal there, particularly on an odd weekend, and I do not know how any tourist would want to go through Temple Bar, which was built as a tourist catch-all area. It is now a place I would advise tourists against visiting. I have statistics on that but I will park them.

We can be very proud of our road network. When people talk about Fianna Fáil blowing the boom, I always tell them to have a look at the roads. I can get down to Kerry in two and a half hours without breaking the speed limit. When I came up here seven years ago, it took me nearly three and half hours. If one goes back further, the journey took four and a half hours. We have a good road network and a fairly good public transport structure.

People come to Ireland mainly for the scenery, our culture and our people because we are supposed to be the friendly Irish. Without causing any trouble for myself, I wish to say that I like to see an Irish face behind the reception desk in a hotel, I like to see Irish waiters and I like to see Irish staff where possible. I think front of house should be Irish because it is the Irish tradition people come to share.

We have many festivals, including arts, racing and sports festivals of every description. They are responsible in a major way for bringing in the big numbers. Again, I would say to the Minister that joined-up thinking is required here. I recently spoke in the House about something that affects my own town of Listowel. Our annual seven-day harvest racing festival in September is a huge draw with an average of 25,000 people per day. This is a mini Gathering for Munster. Traditionally, people from the US and all over the world have come back for it. This year's festival, which had huge prize money, was opposed by Horse Racing Ireland because on the same weekend the Listowel races started, Horse Racing Ireland put on a classic racing extravaganza with millions of euro in prize money in Leopardstown and The Curragh. That is wrong. It could be done at any other time of the year. I can guarantee that Listowel drew three times the crowd they got with all their money. I know racing is not the Minister's area but there should be joined-up thinking about all these festivals. I will leave it at that.