Pat Casey (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The reality of the survival of the tourism industry has become more apparent and more clear to me since we reopened our doors a week ago. When we think of the tourism industry, sometimes we just think of hotels, pubs and restaurants but the industry has a much wider impact than that on society. I refer to the transport sector. We have airports, ferry ports and taxis while limousine hire will probably not do any business for the next year and a half because there will be no corporate business, be it domestic or, indeed, foreign. Coach tour operators have invested heavily in their fleets but there is no market for now.

Then there is the impact this is having on the retail sector as well. Sometimes we forget that it has an impact on large retail stores here in Dublin city but, equally, in every small village throughout our country, there is a small retail craft shop selling stuff that probably will have no opportunity to open this year.

I refer to arts and culture. On the radio yesterday, Garry Hynes was discussing the establishment of the Druid Theatre more than 40 years ago in Galway. It was based on an added tourism product it was offering. Tourism was helping it survive and it was helping the tourism industry promote itself. We have festivals throughout the country, both community festivals and professionals festivals. The Rose of Tralee has been cancelled for the first time ever. That festival industry is gone. Then we have the agricultural sector. The tourism industry, including hotels and restaurants, have been moving to support local businesses and we name the farmers from whom we get our products. The industry is in turmoil.

I ask the Leader today to bring both the Minister with responsibility for tourism and the Minister for Finance to the House to stress the importance of the survival of tourism. At the core of the survival of my industry is that debate on a VAT reduction that we believe is needed if that industry is to survive and be viable into the future.