Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators for their contributions. I will address as many as I can. I cannot do them all. I will start with Senator O'Mahony because he is in the Chamber. I think the Senator will find that the Government is extremely conscious of balanced regional development, not just in a token way but in rolling out transport, which is essential for that. The Senator spoke about the contrast between the east and west coasts. He is right about that. The N4 and the N5, to which he referred, will certainly feature in the mid-term capital review. I cannot give any promises about the priority. It would be very foolish of me to do so. I know they are already being kept in mind, not only by the Senator but also by others. They will be represented and will get due consideration.

On regional airports, while I have not been to Knock yet, I am intending to go there very shortly. I have had several invitations. I was in Waterford on Monday. I appreciate the difficulties some of these regional airports have, but the Government is fully committed to continuing their subventions where it is legal. As the Senator knows and has referred to, there are difficulties in terms of the EU rules, from which restrictions arise with regard to these particular problems. I think he will see that since I came into office the subventions which have gone to Knock, Waterford and other regional airports have not been ungenerous. They have undoubtedly been a reflection of the fact we in Government know the value of these airports to their areas. They are a key part of regional policy and will certainly be maintained as such.

I agree with the Senator that there can be no complacency around Brexit. This area is being addressed aggressively and energetically in terms of tourism. As everybody knows, there are difficulties in respect of the tourism aspect of Brexit. One is the foreign currency situation, over which we have no control. The collapse of sterling makes it more expensive to come here. It may well recover but we are at the mercy of the currency markets when we talk about that. We cannot do anything about it. As Senators on all sides have said, we can market very aggressively and we can look for new markets, and we are doing that. Several people have paid tribute to the tourism agencies. They plan to diversify. They are not as downbeat as some people might be about this. They say that tourism from Britain will retreat a bit this year but they are talking about that happening in terms of small, single digit figures. They have made projections. I was at one of their conferences recently and they are making projections of growth regardless of what happens in the area of Brexit.

Senator Mac Lochlainn is without parallel in advocating for Donegal. There is no way Donegal would be lost to me if I came to the House often enough. It is raised every time I come here. I am meeting a group talking about connectivity in Donegal. I believe that will be next Monday. The Senator probably knows Brendan Flanagan and the Rev. David Crooks. They are coming, and the Senator is welcome to join them I am sure. They are particularly interested in connectivity with Donegal. They have very ambitious plans for railways and roads. I take what they say, and what the Senator says, very seriously. I know the difficulties there are in Donegal. I cannot and I will not make any specific promises to any area today, and the Senator would not expect me to do so. I actively meet people from Donegal and I will continue to do so because of the representations the Senator has made.

On the City of Derry Airport, I will, of course, meet the board. The Senator spoke about the Derry to Dublin flight. I ask the Senator to note that I endorsed the Derry hub recently. I do not know if the Senator is aware of it. One of Sinn Féin's ministers, Chris Hazzard, who I think is quite busy at the moment, is involved. He and I co-operated and the proposals are going to be considered by a special EU body very shortly. That is, I hope, real progress for the region. It indicates that the region is not being ignored in any way.

I will start at the beginning again. I will not get through all the replies. There is no possibility of that. I will guarantee to reply to anybody in a written form. I will get my officials to respond if I do not get through them because my time is very limited and it will all be taken up.

I note what Senator Horkan said about the capital budgets for tourism being cut by 4%. The agencies are, to some extent, the victims of their own success. Like everybody else, they are looking for extra money, especially on the capital side, but the incredible success of Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland sometimes weakens their case. The figures speak for themselves. We are very conscious that there may be a need for certain projects and an emphasis on different areas and on costs elsewhere as well, but at the moment let us not complain about Irish tourism. It is a real good news story and we are really proud of it. We do not even find the Brexit threat to be something that will be that untoward in its damaging effects.

We spoke about the Rugby World Cup. That is the most incredibly exciting flag that one could fly overseas for Ireland at the moment, and both Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland are flying it. The idea that we could win an international competition which could fly the Irish flag North and South is a really great advertisement for sports tourism and for bringing people here. It may or may not be at a cost to the Irish Government, but the side effects and side benefits will be considerable. We are very optimistic about tourism. If there are signs that it needs more encouragement, we will not be found wanting, but at the moment this is a success story. There are some really pressing needs elsewhere in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. This area is flying along, as we can see.

On Brexit, which the Senator also mentioned, there is no lack of enthusiasm or hard work being done on that. The problem is not just the currency. It is not knowing exactly what will happen or where we are going to be hit, as is the case for everywhere else involved in Brexit. The Senator will find that both the main agencies and the Government are preparing for every eventuality. Some of that work will be wasted. There is no doubt about it. We will find that some of it never happens, but I think the Senator will find that we are ready, that we are successful and that tourism will continue because of the commitment, the projects and the global greening, for example.

I do not know whether the Senator saw the recent launch of the global greening for St. Patrick's Day. I cannot remember the number of cities around the world that will be greened on St. Patrick's Day but it is quite phenomenal. I believe it is 27 or maybe more. I cannot remember but it is a phenomenal number and that is at a very low cost. It is extraordinary that not only do we get access to cities and governments around the world through Ministers on St. Patrick's Day, but we also can let people in every city in the world know that Ireland is alive and thriving. We are talking about the Colosseum, the Eiffel Tower and all these places which are going to be lit up. Let us celebrate Irish tourism.

Senator Horkan went on to speak about a lack of vision in transport. He mentioned the DART underground, the M50 and his own constituency. I thought his constituency was the county council panel. I did not realise he had a geographical constituency.