Tom Shehan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform should release funds for recruitment in the public sector. I will bring it down to the health service and make it parochial. We are always talking about how we can enhance our tourism product and, in fairness to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, he has brought forward many initiatives. The trajectory in the tourism scheme is upwards, but I want to bring to mind staffing levels in Muckross House and Gardens in Killarney. Today there are 350 bus tours awaiting allotments to take a tour of the house because the number of guides is down from 22 to 11. It is a no-brainer because 350 buses, with 40 tourists each, equate to 12,000 people, which at €10 per head comes to €120,000. It would be cost neutral. The other point is that the national park is becoming dilapidated and unkempt because staff are not available to maintain it.