Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I warmly welcome the Minister. We worked closely together for many years on Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. I am a native of Kildare and I have never heard more name checks of that county by a man from Monaghan. It always amazes me in the House when we keep referring to our constituencies. Most people who come in here seem not to want to be here. They talk about their constituencies but we do not have Dáil constituencies. We are national politicians and Senators. Sometimes it is a pity that we lose that. Let us be happy here. There is a great expression about being happy in one's station in life. I can say as a Senator, having served one term and hoping to serve a few more, that I am happy to stay in Seanad Éireann because I find it meaningful, engaging and important work. Perhaps we need fewer references to constituencies because the constituents have made their choices and, hopefully, they will have those people in those place for the next four and a half years.

As people have been talking about where they are going on holidays, I point out that I am going to the Minister's beloved Carrickmacross in County Monaghan for one week and to Renvyle in Galway for another because I have met many of the people involved in the harbour there. The lovely Renvyle harbour, as many Senators will know, was left in a terrible state and something needs to be done about that, but that is for another day.

I raise three issues with the Minister's contribution. I welcome the restart grant for bed and breakfast operators but we need much more clarity for the sector. Is the grant for bed and breakfast operators that are registered with Bord Fáilte or not? I tabled a Commencement matter last year with the then Minister of State with responsibility for local government, Deputy Phelan, and one will see in the Official Record of the House that we were told there was an issue with rates due. Some bed and breakfast operators have been told they have to pay rates while others have been told they do not. I do not believe that any of them should be paying rates, but especially small ones in a certain category. I want the Minister to examine that because we need absolute clarity. Are we talking about rate waivers for bed and breakfast operators? Some are not paying but some are. There are inconsistencies among the 31 local authorities in respect of rates for the bed and breakfast sector. We know that from the Minister's responses and from other correspondence that I will forward to her today. I ask her to consider that area.

Another matter raised earlier by one or two Senators relates to the partnership with local government. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, of which I was a member for many years, was paying a levy for Dublin tourism. All three local authorities were paying into a fund. Why are local authorities paying into some bigger or greater agency for the promotion of tourism? How can we develop local tourism in conjunction with the 31 local authorities, their members and their executives? It is a very diverse country, as people have discussed in respect of the areas where they reside or that they know. I ask the Minister to give a special focus and attention to the role of the local authorities and how they can engage in that regard.

We need to look again at our diaspora, our contacts throughout the world. While there may be a different mechanism for promoting tourism, we need to tap in to that. It is a really important sector. We are an island people, and what a great opportunity we could have to promote tourism by having a national and international festival of the sea. We saw what happened with the Volvo Ocean Race and various other international racing clubs. We know that at harbours throughout the island of Ireland we have enormous synergy potential for promoting an international festival of the sea, celebrating the fact that we are an island, surrounded by water and the sea.There is great potential for local, national and international tourism if we work with the people involved in this sector. I wish the Minister well. I have no doubt she is going to give it her all. She has done so in everything she has ever been involved with in politics. I have seen that at first hand. We are going to be in for exciting times under her Ministry and I wish her the best of luck.