Marie Moloney (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming to the House to take this topic. It is not every morning that we wake up to good news, but I certainly woke up to good news this morning from the Minister. I gather the Minister has not yet highlighted what he has done for Donegal and Kerry by retaining the public service obligation arrangements for the regional airports. This is vital for jobs and tourism in both areas and I thank the Minister most sincerely for it. I have been in touch with representatives from Kerry Airport today and they are thrilled and delighted. I assure the Minister that we appreciate it down in that neck of the woods.

The abolition of the air travel tax and the retention of the 9% VAT rate have been fantastic for tourism. We heard more news this week from the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Alex White, who told us about the roll-out of high-speed broadband, which is also vital for tourism. Towns have rather good broadband but it is not the same in rural areas, whether Cahersiveen, Waterville or Dingle, where a person may be trying to promote bed and breakfast accommodation or a hotel. Everything is online now. We have online bookings and people promote bed and breakfast accommodation on websites. It it all online and it is essential that people have high-speed and good-quality broadband for this reason. I am very pleased with the news although it will take several years to realise. I understand that we cannot get around to doing all of it in one go, but I urge the Minister, Deputy White, to introduce it as quickly as possible, especially for rural areas.

In places like Kerry no new industrial jobs have been announced for many years and therefore tourism and agriculture are vital. We have to sustain and enhance what we have. There is a great deal we can do for ourselves. My good colleague said to me that I would get more time if I did not mention Killarney, but I told him that not mentioning Killarney in the context of tourism was like trying to eat a sugary donut without licking one's lips.