Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat. I welcome the Minister of State to the House and commend him for his stewardship and his contribution during his time in office. If I was to listen to Senator Ó Clochartaigh, notwithstanding the fact that he has articulated genuine concerns, I would swear the Government was doing nothing in the tourism sector at all. In front of us today we have a Minister of State. I ask Members to listen to Ryan Tubridy's programme yesterday on RTE Radio 1, where there was a Minister of State with passion, commitment, determination and a vision and plan to drive the tourism sector. It is important, when we talk about a whole of government approach, that we have a Minister of State on top of the brief being the driver of that engine. We are lucky to have the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, in that command.

The figures the Minister of State spoke about today are very strong. In his remarks he made reference to the issue of Brexit and British tourists. I want to turn my attention to the issue of North America. I commend Cork Airport Authority for its ability to reach out. Last week WOW air flew from Cork to the United States via Iceland and in the first week of July Norwegian will fly from Cork to Boston. That is important for the Cork region, from whence I come, because the airport is not just a source of pride, but it is crucial to the economy of the entire southern region. Cork is the hub of that region. The region is not just about a place, it is about people. We can help to grow and create jobs, have people come and live in the region and also have people visit.

I am a little concerned in respect of the approach of Tourism Ireland to Cork. In The Irish Examinerthis week we saw Tourism Ireland taking out a half-page advertisement for the Wild Atlantic Way, which did not mention west Cork at all. This poses the question of why it would not do so. I know that we have a tourism strategy for Cork called Growing Tourism in Cork: A Collective Strategy, underpinned by Visit Cork, but I have to say that I am critical of the tourism bodies in how they sell Cork - in terms of the city and its importance as a place of culture, culinary experiences and retail and then, linked to that, west Cork as a place of absolute beauty. As the Minister of State knows quite well, Cork is the only city and county on both the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland's Ancient East.