Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 143: To ask the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport her policy in relation to the optimum number of hotel beds needed to cater for the tourism level on a county or regional basis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25998/10]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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According to figures compiled by Fáilte Ireland, there were just over 60,000 registered hotel rooms in Ireland in 2009, compared with approximately 42,900 in 2003 and 26,350 in 1996. The existing hotel stock is regarded as more than sufficient to meet current levels of demand. In a report commissioned by the Irish Hotels Federation and prepared by Peter Bacon and Associates, Economic Consultants, it was estimated that there was a surplus of between 12,300 and 15,300 hotel rooms at present. The provision of hotel rooms, and the optimum number required to cater for business, at national, regional and county level, while at the same time allowing for a profitable and competitive hotel sector, is best left to the market to determine and is primarily a function of supply and demand.

Increased quality, competition and control of costs had led in recent times to a superb range of value-for-money offers being available to overseas and domestic tourists. This is a welcome development for those choosing to holiday in Ireland.

Our existing tourism policy seeks to support a competitive and sustainable tourism sector, including hotels, through a wide range of overseas and domestic marketing and promotional programmes to stimulate demand as well as an array of business support programmes to assist individual businesses, including hotels, to improve their efficiency and profitability.