As all the questions deal in one way or another with Bord Fáilte's marketing allocation for 1991, I propose to take Questions Nos. 9, 10, 15, 16, 29, 41 and 42 together.
The joint plan submitted by the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC) and Bord Fáilte, "Promoting Irish Tourism, 1991-1993", and referred to in a resolution sent to me by Dublin Tourism, calls for an extra £17.4 million in Exchequer funding for Bord Fáilte over the next three years. While I fully endorse the concept of a more strategic and coordinated approach to marketing Irish tourism, Government priorities, such as reductions in borrowing, in the current budget deficit, in taxation and inflation, rule out an increase in Exchequer funding of the magnitude sought, which would represent an annual increase of 27 per cent in State expenditure on marketing over the period of the plan. I have asked the confederation and Bord Fáilte to reexamine their proposals with a view to arriving at a more realistic and practical blueprint for action.
Meanwhile, in the light of the prospective difficulties arising for tourism from the Gulf crisis, and from the climate of recession in both of our main markets, the Government allocated an additional £1 million in the recent budget to Bord Fáilte. This money is to be used for marketing and promotion in 1991, particularly in the UK and mainland Europe markets, with the specific objective of keeping the sector on course this year with the Government's five year tourism targets.
While I appreciate Deputies' concerns for the tourism industry in these difficult times, there is still a great deal of business to be won. The Irish tourism industry, which is stronger now than at any time in the past, must respond in an imaginative and aggressive manner to the challenges they are facing at present, particularly in the American market, and to the opportunities which continue to exist in Britain and mainland Europe, and also in the home and Northern Ireland markets.
I am glad to be able to say that the increased marketing activity by Bord Fáilte will be complemented by a significant expansion in marketing and promotion by the private sector, which this year will have access to almost £4 million in ERDF assistance for co-operative marketing and establishment of new markets.
