Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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55. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to examine the issue of cruise tourism in the tourism policy review; if his attention has been drawn to Dun Laoghaire Harbour's plans to extend their cruise facilities. [46967/13]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Tourism Policy Review is designed to look at all aspects of Irish tourism and the issues paper that Minister Ring and I launched on 11 September has a specific section dealing with product development. I am inviting all stakeholders to make their views on the issues known to my Department.  The level of interest has been such that I have extended the deadline for receipt of responses to the public consultation to 22 November after which a detailed analysis of all responses will commence.

Regarding the specific issue of the development of cruise facilities, this is one of those areas where my transport brief closely relates to my tourism brief as it is also related to ports policy. I am keen to ensure that there is a consistency of approach in all policy areas under my Department and that the tourism and ports policy, as with the forthcoming aviation policy, are closely aligned. The broad area of where cruise tourism fits and how it can be best supported in overall tourism policy will be considered as part of the review referred to above.

I am aware that a number of ports including Dun Laoghaire Harbour have plans in this area as part of their development Masterplans.  As the Deputy is aware, it is important to recognise that the cruise industry is not a lucrative source of revenue for port companies themselves as opposed to the economy of the hinterland. It can be difficult for investments in this area to remunerate themselves from the charges of ports levies. Being commercially state-owned enterprises, ports must fund all cruise infrastructure developments must be funded by the ports from their own resources on a commercial basis or through collaboration with those beneficiaries of cruise tourism, be they regional interests or the cruise operators themselves.