Gerard Murphy (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 72: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if his attention has been drawn to the recent information provided by the American Consulate that there is an increasing level of violent crime against tourists here, including a high incidence of petty crime, mostly theft, burglary and purse snatching in major tourist areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15163/06]

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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I am familiar with the US consular information sheet in question. US consular information sheets are routinely issued by the US Department of State, in reespect of individual countries, for the guidance of US citizens travelling abroad. They should not be confused with travel warnings. These sheets cover basic topics of interest to travellers, including potential hazards. Topics include entry requirements, security situation, medical emergencies, crime, banking, transport, etc. I understand that the sheets are updated annually, usually in March.

The information sheet on Ireland notes that although Ireland has, historically, had a low rate of violent crime, it is increasing. It is clear, in the sheet, however, that crime against tourists is limited in number. The information sheet does refer to a high incidence of petty crime in major tourist areas but there is nothing surprising about that given that Dublin, the major tourist centre, also accounts for a significant proportion of general crime.

We would be doing ourselves a disservice to focus on what I would regard as the rather mildly stated negatives in this sheet. It is instructive to read the content of similar sheets for other major European destinations. Ireland is a safe destination and regarded as such. The rate of crime against tourists is very low to the best of our knowledge. In 2005, the Irish Tourist Assistance Service had 293 referrals which involved 496 people and the rate of referrals has been decreasing.

Of the 293 referrals to the Irish Tourist Assistance Service in 2005, 200 were in respect of theft from the person or theft from cars and only 11 were cases of violent crime against tourists compared with 36 cases in 2004. Given that last year we had almost 7 million overseas visitors, it is fair to emphasise that Ireland, for the great majority of holidaymakers, is a very safe tourist destination. The latest Fáilte Ireland Visitor Attitudes Survey reports that 89% of US visitors are very satisfied with the security and safety aspects of their Irish visit.