Eamonn Coghlan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

-----not the sentiment of losing the brand of Aer Lingus, which we will not lose. I believe that is really good for Ireland. After all, one must remember that in the big picture Aer Lingus is only a tiny little operator on the world scene and an IAG takeover of Aer Lingus will be good for Ireland.

However, I will get to the point I wish to make, which would also be somewhat inclusive of Aer Lingus. I refer to the stunning reports from the CSO this morning on the growth of tourism alone this year. Between January and April, the numbers are up by 13.5%. A total of 1.8 million more visitors have come to this country in the period. There is an increase in visitor numbers of 20% from North America. Visitor numbers from Europe have increased by 14.7%. Visitor numbers from Great Britain alone have increased by nearly 10% and visitor numbers from the rest of the world have increased by 23%. That is all part of the Government's economic strategy of investing in tourism and it has proven to be an enormous contribution to economic recovery, in particular in rural areas where jobs have been on the increase. Initiatives such as the Wild Atlantic Way and now Ireland's Ancient East are adding to that, and we expect further growth. I expect the growth of Aer Lingus and tourism-----