Vol. 475 No. 8
25 Mr. Andrews asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the additional resources that the Government intends to provide for the tourism industry for each year until 1999; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5971/97]
The 1997 Exchequer grant-in-aid to the agencies under the aegis of my Department with responsibility for tourism promotion and development is set out in the Book of Estimates which is available in the Oireachtas Library. It is not possible to say what the provision might be in future years because, as the Deputy is aware, the resources provided from the Exchequer for tourism are decided in the course of the annual Estimates exercise.
The Deputy can be assured that, as the Minister with responsibility for the development of Irish tourism, my objective is to ensure that adequate funding is made available through Government, industry and European Union sources to meet the development and promotional needs of Ireland's tourism industry in a way that will copperfasten its growth into the future as a self-sustaining and quality asset.
With regard to European funding, the Deputy will be aware that the Operational Programme for Tourism 1994-1999 sets out in detail the projected funding for each year and for each sub-programme covered — copies of the operational programme are available in the Library of the House.
