Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as a bheith linn. Tacaím agus aontaím leis an gcuid is mó den stuff atá ráite ag na cainteoirí eile go dtí seo. Ba mhaith liom cur leis na ráitis sin agus cúpla ceist a chur ar an Aire faoi chúrsaí turaiseoireachta chomh maith. I thank the Minister of State for being with us today. I agree with most of what my fellow Senators have said so far. The Minister of State has painted a very positive picture of the importance of the tourism sector to the economy but and he gave us very positive statistics. At a time of great uncertainty and many unknowns as a result of Brexit, it is encouraging to hear those positive statistics. What we need to do, as the Minister has acknowledged in terms of his own contribution, is ensure we continue with those positives and with that benefit to our economy.

The 9% VAT rate for the tourism sector which includes all hotels, restaurants and pubs was reduced from 13%. It was supposed to be a temporary measure, but as the Minister of State acknowledged, it is still in place. In our last alternative budget, Sinn Féin proposed removing the reduction for hotels and hotels alone, something we estimated would return in the region of €175 million to the Exchequer. As other speakers have observed, hotels are fuller than ever and unfortunately they have not passed on any price reductions to customers. Like Senator Ned O'Sullivan, I have also seen the rates in Dublin and there is no sign of any reduction there. Given all the statistics and the scale of them, this particular tax break is no longer justifiable. The Government's own tax strategy papers have almost said as much. The ESRI has questioned it for the whole sector, not only hotels. Unfortunately, the Minister, Deputy Ross, has refused to comment on it but maybe the Minister of State will tell us something about that today.

The Minister of State and other Senators have raised the issue of Brexit, the uncertainty of it, its impact on tourism generally and in particular its impact on Tourism Ireland. Tourism Ireland is an all-Ireland body established under the Good Friday Agreement to promote the island in its entirety overseas. In a previous life, at Belfast City Council, I worked very closely with Tourism Ireland as a member of Visit Belfast and Belfast City Council's development committee. They have done a fantastic job in recent years to promote the island across the world. However, there are huge uncertainties. There are significant negatives as a result of Brexit and we are kidding ourselves if we do not accept that Brexit is going to impact on the remit and the ability and capability of Tourism Ireland to promote the island overseas. When one looks through the Brexit prism, it really impacts on tourism. It highlights the fallacy of Brexit but also the impractical and detrimental nature of partition itself, because we have two competing systems and two different currencies on a small island. Here is the unwanted, negative dynamic of Brexit being thrown into the mix.

The Minister of State has alluded to some preparations which are ongoing in Tourism Ireland to offset that. Could he outline some of the practical preparations that are planned? For instance, Senator Lawless noted, that Tourism Ireland and other tourism bodies across the island, not least along the Border corridors who will probably feel this most acutely, can prepare for their tourism offers three years in advance. They do their practical preparation, they then go out to the markets, whether that is in the Far East, Britain or North America, and then in the third year, that hopefully sees a return. There is at least a three-year projected plan for tourism bodies whether it is Tourism Ireland or the more local bodies across Ireland.

I do not say this to be facetious, but rather sincerely, but I would love to know what those preparations are. I would love to hear some of what they are hoping to do because the greatest certainty in Brexit has been its uncertainty. We do not know what manifestation Brexit is going to take. We do not know how the Border is going to be impacted. We do not know a whole series of things. There is a great deal of uncertainty and sympathy on my part, and on the part of my party, for our tourism sector.

Due to the nature of Brexit, I hope the Minister of State remains very firm that there is no compromise around the responsibility to promote the island as an entire entity. Senator Lawless's idea of a European gathering to encourage an influx of Europeans to Ireland is a positive one. It is almost the reverse of the flight of the earls. I understand it could be easier or a bit more safe to simply promote the Wild Atlantic Way because of the uncertainty of Brexit. Why would one want to go and encourage people into a whole lot of uncertainty in the North? Would we really encourage them to go to the Giant's Causeway or Titanic Belfast or the walls in Derry, when we do not know what that is going to be like? That is a practical point that I wanted to make to the Minister of State, for him to keep a close eye on it and I am sure he will.

As Senator Ned O'Sullivan noted, we all agree on the need for some form of special status and want to mitigate against the negative impacts of Brexit. While appreciating the impact that overseas tourism has on the State's economy, we should encourage tourism across the island, back and forward whether it is weekend breaks or staycations. The biggest community arts festival in western Europe will take place in Belfast in August. I do not know how many people in Kerry or Galway know about that. Government Senators often say here that we need to put on the green jersey, so let us do that. I will encourage people to go down to the Ring of Kerry and similarly, I would encourage people to come up and spend a weekend in the North. If we are serious about mitigating against Brexit and trying to offset some of the negatives, let us do that. Here is a modest way. Let us look at the strategic political moves but let us also encourage people to move back and forward and oppose any notion of a barrier or a block on our people and enjoy the best that our country has to offer overall.

The Acting Chairman has been very indulgent and I will finish on this. I am sure it grates on the Minister of State as much as it does on me, that Ireland's Ancient East stops in County Louth and does not extend to the birthplace and homelands and playground of Cú Chulainn and Fionn Mac Cumhaill in north Antrim. I wonder has he had any dialogue with colleagues in the North about extending Ireland's Ancient East for the benefit of communities on both sides on the Border. Everyone acknowledges that we do not want to see boom and bust on either side of the Border, where it is Newry at one time or parts of Louth the next.