Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will battle on.

I will hit three or four points regarding sport. Obviously, we are supportive of the Rugby World Cup 2023 project. I am delighted to see my fellow Kerryman and old sparring partner, Mr. Dick Spring, being positive on that front, and I am sure that the Leas-Chathaoirleach is as well. We wish the project well and will do everything that we can to land it and get it over the line.

The Minister is a little laid back about sports grants. He mentioned application forms being issued in January with decisions possibly being made by next summer. He knows that these are lifelines for all types of community sporting activity across the nation. We hope that he will get the finger out a bit. We cannot afford to drag out the process.

I appreciate the constraints on the Minister regarding the Rio ticket debacle. It was unfortunate for the national image as well as for sport and politics in Ireland. I will not tread on the Moran inquiry, but I hope there will be no further delays. There is a sense around the country that the issue will be quietly swept under the carpet.

Clearly, tourism is a success story. Since the Seanad had a good debate with the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, last week, I will not rehash much of that discussion, but we must nourish and invest in tourism. There is no point in standing back and admiring ourselves. We must continually work on it. I am concerned by the figures. The 2017 capital programme is down by 4%. Since 2012, it has decreased by 17%. The Minister knows that when investment drops in any walk of life, performance also drops. He will need to examine and address this issue, particularly in the context of Brexit. As he stated, 40% of our tourism revenue comes from Great Britain and Northern Ireland. They are big spenders, as we in Kerry know well, and they are always welcome visitors, but people are concerned. At a recent Oireachtas committee meeting, the head of Fáilte Ireland indicated that Brexit had already impacted on the sector. Perhaps we should have a more forceful tourism Brexit statement. There has been an interdepartmental one, but the impact on tourism will hit my county first and I would like to see a more hands-on approach to the situation.

As the Minister knows, the Asian market is growing and has considerable potential. I would welcome further studies in this regard. People coming from Asia travel for longer to get here, spend more time in our country and visit more parts of it. Their needs, what they are visiting for and how we can attract more of them should be analysed.

Turning to the old bug bears in tourism, hotel pricing, particularly in our capital city, is a disgrace. It will be an issue this coming weekend with the Rod Stewart concert. Another bug bear is the shortage of skills, particularly in the culinary field. There is a shortfall of up to 5,000 chefs. As to kitchen skills training, we are far behind where we used to be in the days of CERT. As a Kerryman, I am involved in tourism and know all about it, and the Minister will be conscious of its importance.

While the Wild Atlantic Way has been a success, there has been little in the way of real funding for some projects, for example, the new visual viewing platforms that all of the counties are anxious to get. Will the Minister provide some details on capital funding in that respect?

Regarding transport, I should start with the most important issue, which is road safety. The Minister is dead on in this regard and we will support everything and anything he can do on that front. Senators were glad to initiate the Road Traffic Bill, which is now before the Dáil. The level of competence required to get a full driving licence needs to be examined.