Vol. 502 No. 5
4 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources the steps, if any, taken or envisaged by him to fulfil the commitment made in An Action Programme for the Millennium to develop Ireland as a base for cruise liners; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8556/99]
The State port companies which operate under the aegis of my Department are working closely under the focal point of Cruise Ireland with all the relevant interests, including Bord Fáilte, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, ground handlers, ships' agents and tourism-business associations in developing Ireland as a cruise liner destination and ensuring that the commitment made in An Action Programme for the Millennium is fulfilled. Our objective is to further develop our key State commercial seaports as cruise ship destinations featuring on the itineraries of all the cruise lines operating in Europe.
The Cruise Ireland marketing and development initiative, with market support from Bord Fáilte and European Regional Development Fund assistance through the Operational Programme for Tourism, is delivering tangible benefits for the cruise liner business. The number of cruise vessel calls to Ireland rose from 100 in 1997 to 110 in 1998, while passenger and crew number visits correspondingly increased to 98,400 in 1998 as compared with some 85,000 in 1997.
Cruise Ireland participated in 1998 for the fifth year in a row at the main cruise line promotion in the world, the Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention in Miami. I am advised that the international cruise industry is expanding rapidly and all the major cruise companies have ships on order or under construction. Cruise ship capacity has doubled since 1994 and passenger levels projected at some 7.2 million worldwide by 2000 are expected to further increase to at least 10.8 million by 2010. It is the intention of Cruise Ireland and the port companies, as key players in this initiative, particularly the ports of Dublin, Cork and Waterford, to capitalise on this expansion and to this end the marketing effort is being intensified for 1999.
I thank the Minister for that detailed reply. Does he agree it is not encouraging for Irish people who wish to take vacations on cruise liners that they must fly to ports some of which are even outside the EU? Does he agree that Aer Lingus could play a major part in that operation? In other words, it could carry foreigners to link up with cruise liners in Irish ports.
As the Deputy will probably be aware, Ireland does not have a cruise liner industry but is increasingly becoming a venue for cruise liners. The Deputy's point about the link between air transport and cruise liners is important. One can only board when the ships visit the ports if one made an arrangement. Otherwise, it would appear that the Deputy is correct to a great extent.
Initially Ireland was not particularly geared for this development but it is an area which is developing rapidly. Incoming cruisers stay for short and longer periods. Some visit Waterford, Dublin and then travel to Derry and others do the reverse.
It is an area which can bring in a great deal of extra business. That is clear in Cork, Dublin and in Waterford, where Waterford Glass connects up well with them as it is a showpiece for visitors and it does a great deal of business. This is a growing industry and the Cruise Ireland promotion will be helpful.
