Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We will be contesting it vigorously. It will be interesting to see the reaction of the Labour Party in this regard.I encourage the Government parties not to take the action they took the last time. Retrospective qualifications are not acceptable in this House. It was a frightening and sinister activity on the part of the Government.

Will the Leader arrange for the appropriate Minister, whether it is the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport or the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, to come to the House to discuss the regrettable decision by Paddy Cosgrave yesterday to transfer the Web Summit, which was established in Dublin and was very successful over several years, to Lisbon? It attracted 30,000 visitors to Ireland and generated €140 million in income for the country. One can rightfully criticise the hoteliers and others for this decision but this is not the real reason for the proposed transfer of this major conference to Lisbon from 2016 to 2019. It was a significant boost to the economy, attracted many of the top web developers from around the world and resulted in the creation of many worthwhile jobs. The contribution of Bono to this summit has been enormous too.

I hope the Government decides to hold an international conference in Ireland in 2016, bearing in mind that Ireland, not Lisbon, is the Silicon Valley of Europe. All the major web companies are located in Ireland and they are very successful here. Will the Leader seek a debate on the hosting of international conferences in Ireland? The Convention Centre Dublin on the quays was built under a progressive Fianna Fáil Government and should be utilised in more ways than one, as it is a wonderful asset. As a former Minister of State with responsibility for trade, I arranged many successful conferences in Ireland with An Bord Tráchtála. We have brilliant people working in the public service who would be delighted to have the opportunity to hold the largest and most successful web conference in Dublin in 2016 and beyond.