I move:
That a supplementary sum not exceeding £10 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1971, for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Minister for Transport and Power, including certain services administered by that Office, and for payment of sundry Grants-in-Aid.
This Supplementary Estimate is necessary to meet excess expenditure on certain subheads of the Vote which could not be foreseen when the original Estimate was prepared. The sum of £324,000 provided under subhead A is required to meet the 12th round pay increases and other increases arising from the conciliation and arbitration scheme. Rates of overtime in certain departmental grades were altered with effect from the 1st October, 1967, and additional pay for Sunday duty and public holidays was provided for. There is an excess of £137,000 on subhead B.1—Travelling and Incidental Expenses. There is a token sum of £10 in respect of subhead F.1 which is to enable the transfer to administration and general expenses of Bord Fáilte of the sum of £200,000 from the provision of £600,000 for interest grants. There is an excess of £27,000 on subhead L which deals with international organisations. An additional £53,000 is necessary for subhead P to meet the cost of special inquiries.
It has been necessary to take into account also a deficiency in Appropriations-in-Aid of £315,000. The deficit shortfall in the surplus on Shannon and Cork Airports account is now estimated at £425,000 due to reductions in the number of flights passing through Shannon Airport. The decline is largely due to rigid enforcement by the US authorities and IATA of the regulations on charters and to a drop in the number of US military flights. There is a surplus of £110,000 on the operating account for the year ended 31st March, 1970, at Dublin Airport bringing the net deficit down to £315,000. An adjustment of £250,000 as between passenger service charges—U.3—and Dublin Airport operating account for the year ending 31st March, 1971— U.7—is necessary to rectify a printing error.
The total excess expenditure of £856,010 has been met from savings on other subheads so that the net sum required is £10. The bulk of the additional £137,000 required for the travelling and incidentals subhead is attributable to payments made to the British authorities in respect of the search carried out by their vessels and personnel for the wreckage of the Aer Lingus Viscount aircraft, which crashed into the sea off Tuskar Rock in March, 1968.
The additional £27,000 under subhead L arises in connection with Ireland's membership of the Convention relating to Co-operation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol). This convention which came into operation in 1963, provides for a unified air traffic control system over western Europe at heights above 20,000 feet. In accordance with the convention member States are required to contribute to the costs of operation of the organisation. The levels of contributions are fixed jointly by member States and this year our contribution involved an increase of £27,000 on the original Estimate. It is necessary to provide for this to meet our commitments.
Consultants were engaged to examine the position regarding cross-Channel freight shipping. The background to this inquiry was a planned large-scale investment and development by the B & I Company and by British Rail which could have resulted in over-capacity in the cross-Channel shipping trade and an element of incompatibility in the policies followed by CIE and B & I in this area. A major review of the policies of State companies engaged in the trade was made and I availed of this opportunity to invite the consultant's views on the capital structure of the B & I Company. The House will be in a position to discuss the affairs of this company in detail during the debate on the British and Irish Steam Packet Company Limited (Acquisition) (Amendment) Bill, 1970.
Consultants were also engaged to assist a joint committee, comprising representatives of my Department, the Department of Finance and CIE, which was set up following a serious increase in CIE's losses to investigate the financial position of CIE and to identify possible corrective measures. The committee has not yet completed its assignment. I do not propose to go into the affairs of CIE in this speech as the activities of the board were discussed in detail in the House in December last during the debate on the Transport Bill, 1970.
Next I come to the provision in relation to tourism. As Deputies are aware, 1969 and 1970 were difficult years for the tourist industry. Tourist receipts in 1970 are provisionally estimated at £101.2 million as compared with £97.8 million in 1969 and £93 million in 1968. These figures indicate modest increases in very difficult circumstances but the increases have not been sufficient to offset changes in money values. In terms of constant money values, therefore, our tourist income has shown a decline of between 2 per cent and 3 per cent in each of the last two years.
The main reasons for the fall-off in growth were the Northern Ireland disturbances and the world-wide publicity given to them, and rising prices. Revenue from British and Northern Ireland visitors fell short of target in 1970 while income from the North American, Continental and other markets was either on or above target.
The problems affecting the tourist industry have had my close and constant attention during the past year. I have had discussions with Bord Fáilte about the measures to be adopted to deal with these problems and I have appointed two additional members to the board to enlarge the expertise and experience at that level. The board itself has carried out a review of its operations and has effected changes designed to strengthen its activities and to ensure the most effective operation.
I have also had consultations with all sectors of the tourist industry, both State-sponsored bodies and the private sector. I have found a keen awareness of the importance of tourism in the economy and of the challenges facing the industry at the present time. The positive response of the industry is illustrated by the formation during the year of the National Tourism Council, which is representative of all sectors and which will serve to improve the machinery for communication and consultation within the industry. This was a worthwhile and welcome innovation which will strengthen the tourist industry and facilitate an integrated approach to the task of expanding tourism revenue.
I believe that the main need at present is for intensification of our marketing effort. In accordance with this, I arranged for Bord Fáilte to undertake a special promotional campaign in our main markets over the past few months. The purpose of this campaign is to win back lost traffic and to develop further tourist growth over the next two to three years. The cost of the campaign will be £395,000.
Half of this is being provided by this Supplementary Estimate. An amount of £200,000 out of the £600,000 provided for interest grants in the current year was not called on because of problems arising from the banks strike. I am accordingly proposing to transfer these unused interest grant moneys to Bord Fáilte's general grant-in-aid for administration, operational and general expenses towards financing the special promotional campaign. The balance of the cost of the campaign, i.e. £195,000, will be met out of the board's grant-in-aid allocation for 1971-72. The campaign has included increased consumer advertising backed up by public relations and sales activity with appropriate supporting print and distribution.
In view of the amount of speculation about the tourist industry, I am sure Deputies would wish to have a firm indication of the general tourism prospects for 1971. In a normal year this would be difficult enough at this stage but the current exceptional situation renders it completely impossible to give any firm estimate of tourism income for the coming season. Bord Fáilte have, however, told me that they are generally satisfied with the progress of the special campaign in North America and Europe and that present indications from these markets are reasonably good. In Britain, inquiries to Bord Fáilte offices were running at a particularly high rate before the commencement of the British postal strike. The board undertook for the duration of the strike special measures, in conjunction with the trade, to offset the worst effects of the strike. Since the resumption of normal postal facilities in Britain earlier this month, postal inquiries to Bord Fáilte are at about the same level as last year.
I have impressed on Bord Fáilte and on all tourism interests the need for the most vigorous marketing effort in the coming year. Many of the difficulties which prevailed in 1969 and 1970 are still with us and it is essential that all sectors of the industry should be indefatigable in their efforts to maintain and expand the tourist trade which has played and will continue to play an important part in our national economic growth.
I commend the Supplementary Estimate to the House.
