David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 89: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the role of the tourism development policy unit in regard to regional tourism structures and enterprise development in the tourism sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14017/10]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The role of the Tourism Division in my Department is set out in the Statement of Strategy of the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, accessible on the Department's website www.arts-sport-tourism-gov.ie. The website also sets out in detail the functions and key responsibilities of the Tourism Development Policy Unit.

The high-level goal of the Tourism Division as set out in the Statement of Strategy is to support the growth of a competitive and sustainable tourism industry, enhancing its contribution to national economic and social goals, through the development, implementation and influencing of a range of policy actions and programmes by the Department, its Agencies and other Government Departments, in consultation with industry partners.

Individual actions and measures relating to tourism promotion or development at a regional level and individual actions and measures in relation to enterprise development are day-to-day functions of Fáilte Ireland, as set out in Section 8 of the National Tourism Development Authority Act 2003, with the exception of the Shannon region where Shannon Development is the primary regional tourism agency. This includes the management and development of the agencies' regional offices and support structures.

The role of the Tourism Development Policy Unit in relation to these matters is to ensure that the appropriate policies, institutional and legislative structures and resources are in place to support regional tourism and enterprise development.