Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will be quick. I support the motion. I commend my colleague, Senator Martin Conway, for scripting and putting together this very important motion. We will hopefully make an important statement tonight, if we get support from the Members of the House, regarding the tourism industry and where we want to drive it. It has been a unique driver in troubled times in the Irish State. It has been one of our shining lights. Since The Gathering it has been one of the key drivers in the economy. This is due to the commitment of this Minister and previous Ministers to the tourism project.

Staffing issues have been raised in this debate. I come from Minane Bridge, which is eight miles from Kinsale. The biggest problem in Kinsale today is a lack of staff. We do not have enough staff in the tourism industry. There are signs looking for staff in every window in one of the most successful tourism towns in Ireland.

It has been said today that 85% of people in the hospitality industry earn less than €400. In my opinion, most of those are part-time workers. That is very evident in Kinsale. That is the benefit of having a very strong tourism industry. Teenagers going to college have the ability to get part-time work in their own locality, which is of assistance to them. We should be proud of our tourism industry. We should be proud of the staff and proud of the people who drove this industry forward.

The Wild Atlantic Way starts in Kinsale. At the other side of Cork Harbour is the start of Ireland's Ancient East. These are two very important projects which have brought a major economic drive into our area that has been very beneficial to both urban Cork city and rural west Cork. I note that the Minister plans to visit west Cork and Kerry in the coming months. He will see what it means to the communities. The Wild Atlantic Way has delivered. It is important for us to recognise that.

There have to be changes made. Things like CERT should be brought back. There is an issue with the lack of trained staff in the hospitality industry. We need to bring people in and start training them again. We need to return to the CERT model and put a programme in place to ensure we have an appropriate number of trained staff coming through. We have neither enough staff nor enough trained staff. We need to put processes in place to get those people into the industry.

I would like to compliment Senator Conway for his motion. It is a very important and timely one. Hopefully today we will put down a marker that demonstrates our views on the tourism industry.