Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 92: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there was an increase of 6% in the number of tourists who were victims of crime here in 2006 compared with 2005 as reported to the Irish Tourist Assistance Service; the action he will take to address this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11770/07]

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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Crime and measures to prevent and combat it are, as the Deputy is aware, properly matters for my colleague, the Minister for Justice Equality and Law Reform.

It is important to be clear that the 6% increase referred to by the Deputy is in the number of referrals to the Service, primarily from the Gardaí. In its Report, the Service makes it plain that it will continue its awareness raising work with the Gardaí to "increase the number of referrals".

The referrals are of visitors from abroad who have been victims of crime. The figures do not specify the length of stay of these visitors and the noted increase could also refer to the fact that visitors and agencies are now more aware of the work and assistance provided by ITAS for tourists.

While the overwhelming majority of our visitors do not encounter crime, I fully subscribe to the view that there is no acceptable level of crime and that one outrage is one too many.

All of us are aware of the impact a crime can have on a person but tourists are even more vulnerable. They are in a strange environment and their problems can be compounded by language, cultural and legal issues.

Although the remit of the Irish Tourist Assistance Service is not in the area of crime prevention, it works closely with the Gardaí with whom it has an excellent, co-operative relationship.

The Irish Tourist Assistance Service booklet — Helping Tourist Victims of Crime — is available in Garda Stations, Tourist Offices and car rental companies. 40,000 copies of the booklet were distributed to tourists, through the tourism industry, in 2006. I recently launched an ITAS DVD for distribution across the country which contains safety tips for tourists along with relevant information on where to access assistance.

The Service, which is now known as Irish Tourist Assistance Service, was launched in 1994 and, since that time, has assisted over 8,000 visitors. It may not be widely known but Ireland is seen as a 'best practice' model in Europe in terms of the support it provides tourists in the aftermath of crime.