Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Like previous speakers, I welcome the moves announced yesterday in the context of normalising relations between the US and Cuba.

I very much applaud the role played by Pope Francis in bringing about an improvement in relations after almost 50 years. I hope that Pope Francis will continue to play an active role in helping to broker peace in many of the trouble spots around the world. I think he could be a great influence for reconciliation and for improving relations between warring factions.

I very much welcome the strong tourism figures announced in recent days which show that approximately 7.3 million overseas visitors will have come to our country in 2014, which is up 8% on 2013. These visitors will contribute €3.6 billion to our economy, which is up 9% on 2013. Much of this success is due to the excellent marketing of the Wild Atlantic Way, which is making a huge contribution to tourism in this country. The fantastic work being done by Tourism Ireland in promoting Ireland abroad, in particular in the United States, is very significant. The additional flights between Ireland and the US this year also contributed very significantly.

Next year is looking particularly good with new Aer Lingus flights from Washington DC to Dublin, new United Airlines flights from Chicago to Dublin, a new Transavia service from Paris to Dublin, Finnair flights from Helsinki to Dublin and flights from Gothenburg in Sweden. While 2015 is looking particularly good, we need to keep our eye on the ball. Our hotels need to ensure their prices remain competitive, they continue to give good customer service and value for money and they address some issues and problems in that area. In the new year, I would like the Leader to organise a full debate on tourism and the huge contribution it can make to the recovery of our economy.

As we head into the Christmas period and with the huge increase in traffic on the roads and, unfortunately, the increase in the number of people losing their lives on the roads, I urge everybody to be particularly careful, to ensure nobody goes out on the roads having consumed alcohol and to do everything possible to ensure no family is without a loved one this Christmas as a result of irresponsible behaviour on the roads by any of us.