Marie Moloney (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. Many of the issues I wished to mention have already been dealt with by several Senators and I will not go over them again. I welcome that the tourism sector is growing steadily. In Kerry, particularly in Killarney, last year was the best tourist season in a decade; that has been said quite openly. That was down to a number of factors, particularly the introduction and retention of the 9% VAT rate. It has definitely been a major advantage. Some people fear this saving is not passed on to consumers, but it is. My daughter is getting married in August and when she went to a hotel nearly a year and a half ago they gave her a price for the reception.The price they gave her was based on a 9% VAT rate; if the rate went up, the price would increase. She is now benefiting from the lower rate, so it is being passed on to the consumer, which is very important. However, it must also be passed on to the workers in the sector; they must benefit from this as well. We do not want anyone getting rich on the backs of workers - that is the last thing we want. The lower rate has been a fantastic saving grace for the tourism industry and I hope it will be kept in place.

Another issue is the public service obligation, PSO, for the regional airports. I thank the Minister for keeping this because it is vital, not just for the connection between Dublin and Kerry but for transfers, as someone flying into Dublin may transfer down to the regions or to Kerry if the flight is available. Had it not been for the PSO, it is highly unlikely this could have been retained as it would not be affordable for people. I am very grateful to the Minister for keeping it and hope it will continue, although that is another day's argument.

It seems as though we are having a competition in the House today about the best place in Ireland to go for holidays. We are all promoting our own areas. It would be remiss of me not to mention Killarney as I come from there. Killarney has a fantastic reputation and everybody seems to want to go there or live there, which is why the price of housing and rental accommodation is so high. That did not just happen; we did not all wake up one morning and say "let us all go to Killarney". It happened by hard work and local initiatives to always keep something in place to entice people to come to the town.

Next Saturday morning we have the Ring of Kerry charity cycle when 12,000 people will get on their bikes and cycle the Ring of Kerry. It is massive. We are selling a huge number of bed nights, not only for the cyclists but also for those who come with them. Huge crowds will be coming to Kerry and particularly to Killarney next weekend. These things are put in place by people with initiative and a bit of forward thinking.

I congratulate the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, on the money for the greenways. Cycling has become a huge thing in County Kerry, which is probably a knock-on effect from the Ring of Kerry cycle. It is huge all over Ireland; it is the new golf. The greenways are fantastic and I cannot wait to have our's up and running. There have been cycling lanes put in all through the towns. They are vital because cycling is so dangerous on some of the roads. The bike lanes are a huge draw for people who want to do a cycling holiday.

I applaud the Wild Atlantic Way. It is fantastic, as was The Gathering, which was really successful. That is still going on because people are still gathering and coming for different things like school, family and work reunions. It is all bed nights incoming to the area. People are having food and drinks and it is great.

Most Senators will know that Killarney National Park was named by The Irish Timesas the best day out in Ireland. Of course it is the best day out. It is natural and wonderful. Although it costs money to keep everything looking so good, we have the lakes and mountains which are natural and there for us, thanks be to God. In Killarney we are very short on industrial jobs. We rely on tourism and have enhanced and developed it. So much can be done, including sailing, boating, fishing , hiking, kayaking and horse riding - and it is being done. The people are working.

I pay tribute to Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland and to the local development partnerships and councils, particularly Killarney town council, although it is gone now. They put huge work into promoting Killarney and its surrounding areas. The tidy towns committee volunteers work so hard. Every day and night they are cleaning up the streets and keeping Killarney looking good. People can take things into their own hands and promote their own areas. It encourages visitors to come once a place gets a reputation.

People think it is all about drinking in Ireland, but it is not. Last weekend my daughter who is getting married and had her hen party in a place called Terryglass up in----