Vol. 577 No. 5
7 Ms Burton asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if the high level implementation group to drive forward and monitor implementation of the report of the tourism policy review group, New Horizons for Irish Tourism: An Agenda for Action, has yet been established; the membership of the group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31555/03]
30 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism when he intends to appoint a top level implementation group to advance the recommendations of the tourism policy review group's recent report, New Horizons for Irish Tourism: An Agenda for Action; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31441/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 30 together.
I am close to finalising the composition and membership of the high level group to implement the tourism action plan recommended by the tourism policy review group and I expect to make an announcement in the near future. Notwithstanding the setting up of the implementation group, a number of the recommended actions directed at my Department and the tourism State agencies are already under way. For example, the tourism unit of my Department has been reconfigured, advertisements seeking expressions of interest for the national conference centre have been placed in the media and bilateral consultations have taken place with the Department of Finance on taxation and with the Department of Health and Children on the anti-smoking regulations.
Fáilte Ireland's recently published summary operational plan for 2004 outlines how many of the recommendations in the report of the review group have been incorporated into its operational planning in the areas of product development, skills training and tourism marketing. A welcome development by Fáilte Ireland has been its new initiative to address the cost of insurance across the sector in co-operation with industry representative groups, including the Irish Hotels Federation and the Restaurants Association of Ireland.
Similarly, Tourism Ireland has completed an examination of the recommendations contained in the report of the tourism policy review group that affect the areas within its remit. It has incorporated a number of these into its three year marketing strategy and detailed operating plan for 2004, which I launched in Dublin last week. Their marketing, trade activity and access strategies are in line with the review group's overall framework. While the bulk of marketing resources will be focused on the best prospective markets for Ireland – Britain, the United States, France and Germany – Tourism Ireland will also continue to look for opportunities in developing markets. It will play a leading role in supporting additional direct, convenient and competitive access services into Ireland.
Will the Minister confirm that this high level implementation group will have clear responsibility and a timeframe for each set of actions? Will the group address the question of competitiveness? During the last Question Time I mentioned that Ireland has the highest wine tax, the second highest beer tax and the third highest spirits tax in Europe. It is now the second most expensive of the 15 EU member states. Although it was fifth from the bottom in 1999 it is now markedly more expensive than our main competitors, such as Greece, Spain and Portugal. It also has the second highest VAT rate in the eurozone – Germany has the highest. Our VAT rate, 13.5%, may be compared to those of France, 5.5%, and Spain, 7%. Will the high level implementation group tackle these major issues?
Our greatest problem is competitiveness. We are pricing ourselves out of the market. Most of the price increases responsible for this are directly controlled by the Government, in the form of the Minister for Finance. He did nothing about this in the recent budget other than to increase the tax on petrol, which added to our lack of competitiveness. Will the implementation group address this issue when it implements the recommendations of the report?
As I recall, one of the recommendations in the report deals with the issue of competitiveness. It suggested that there should be no increase in excise duty on alcohol or food in the budget.
Actually it recommended a decrease.
The Minister for Finance took account of this, among other sources.
The issue of competitiveness is dealt with in the report. The implementation group will be charged with implementing all recommendations which are feasible. In that regard I intend to appoint a tightly knit group. Within a period of six months we will seek a progress report. After the implementation group has been in existence for a year there will be a forum where it will be possible for interested parties to discuss with the group its progress on implementation.
I regard the task of the implementation group as of pivotal importance. It will ensure that Ireland's tourism image and product remains at the highest standard and that we are able to compete with the best internationally and that we have the relevant access to enable people to get here. I am confident those whom I have identified as suitable for membership of the implementation group are capable of doing the business.
Will the implementation group be appointed before 2004? On the issue of the common denominator of insurance, how can Fáilte Ireland deal with this matter? If there is a need for legislation, will the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment have to deal with it? To say the group will look at insurance in the overall is a bland statement. Given that a Department other than the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism and Sport deals with insurance, how will the link be created to address what is the major problem? The Minister was correct in what he had to say about addressing the insurance problem. How can it be done if it is not in the realm of his own ministerial control and is not linked to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment?
Fáilte Ireland has embarked upon an exercise with the tourism industry to gather and collate information which it says will ultimately lead, unquestionably, to reduced premia for the industry. The Deputy will be aware of the work of other Departments in this area and has referred to them. Pivotal to the Government's approach is the Personal Injuries Assessment Board.
It is my intention to set up the implementation group in the near future, probably in early January. At this point we have identified nearly all the members of the group. An appropriate statement will be made in January.
