Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

They must continue to do so.

As I have not had the opportunity to address Senator Craughwell before, I congratulate him on his election to the Seanad. I wish him the best of luck in the contribution he will make to it. He is correct with regard to the importance of airports and the contribution they make to how a tourist first views the country. The establishment of Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport represents a massive improvement compared to what was there several years ago. These new facilities provide a good welcome to tourists. The airports, the Garda Síochána and the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, INIS, have tackled the waiting times for passport checks for arrivals at our airports. I will raise the point made by the Senator about the journey time between the two terminals.

I thank Senator Eamonn Coghlan for the work he has done with Fáilte Ireland and representing Irish sport abroad. I agree with him on the need for Dublin to examine its image. That is why I have put in place the Grow Dublin Tourism Alliance, which Bord Bia chairman, Mr. Michael Carey, has agreed to head. I thank him for taking on this large project, with which he will do a brilliant job.

Senator Conway hit the nail on the head on the need to join up all the various tourism initiatives that we have in place. I am sceptical, however, about the role of targeted tax incentives for particular tourism projects because of my concerns regarding their ability to pay out in the future. I agree with the Senator on the need to complement what he called the gold-plated attractions with other tourism attractions so they can come together to give people the opportunity to have a good visit. We must continue to provide opportunities for extending the length of stay of tourists.

The Tidy Towns competition makes a good impact in terms of developing a community-based welcome to visitors to towns. As Senator Cummins knows, it is not an act of God that we have a tourism sector that is performing so well. It has happened because of the quality, leadership and stamina of those working in it, supported by the Government’s decisions. All of that coming together has got our tourism industry to where it is now. The Senator also pointed to progress in the development of the Great Western Greenway, and I am confident that it will be a greater success in the future. On the point about the Viking Triangle, I am examining how we can build on this in Waterford and neighbouring counties and market it collectively abroad in a better way than we have been able to thus far. I am sure that when we get this in place next year it will give more support to businesses and communities in Waterford city and county.