Martin Conway (Fine Gael)

I, too, would like to be associated with the sympathies expressed to the Finucane family on the passing of the legend that was Jim Finucane. I had the privilege of having a cup of tea with Jim about three or four weeks ago after he was appointed to his position as honorary consul for Ukraine when he was in Dublin. I believe it was the day after he had been appointed. He was a great and lovely man and will be sadly missed.

I also echo the welcome to Michelle Madden and her daughter, Sinéad, in the Gallery and wish them all the very best. They retired recently from business. Madden's Furniture was a stalwart business for many decades in the town of Ennis. It gave great service to the community and I wish the family every success in the next chapter of their lives.

From a business perspective, I would like to ask the Leader to organise a debate on the future of tourism in this country. As the only representative of County Clare in the Seanad, it is my duty to constantly remind the Chamber and powers that be of the importance of tourism in our county. I was concerned to learn that there is expected to be a decline in the number of American tourists visiting this country. The American market is extremely important for the west coast in particular because Americans spend quite a lot of money. We know that when a trend starts, it takes a couple of years for it to percolate its way to having an effect. Now is the time for interventions, in particular with the American market. I know the geopolitical situation is a bit tricky at the moment, but there are a lot of people in America who love coming to visit Ireland and would love to visit Ireland. We need to remind them of what we have to offer in this country. We need to have a debate on not just summer tourism but also winter tourism and tourism all year round because we cannot be weather dependent, as we know. If the Leader could arrange, in his own time, a debate on tourism I would be grateful.