Vol. 1066 No. 6
91. Deputy Joanna Byrne asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to provide details from all agencies under his remit of capital projects that cost more than €500,000 and were either abandoned or materially failed to be delivered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22926/25]
93. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the other agencies, along with RTÉ and the Arts Council, under his auspices that have had failed or partially failed multimillion euro IT projects; if he will make full disclosure of when his Department became aware of any issue with each such IT project; and if he will provide the correspondence between his Department and each agency in relation to same. [23118/25]
This question is to ask the Minister to provide details for all agencies under his Department's remit of capital projects costing more than €500,000 that were either abandoned or materially failed to be delivered, and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 91 and 93 together.
I thank the Deputy. Following my appointment as Minister, issues were brought to my attention regarding a failed ICT project in the Arts Council and an unused X-ray machine in the National Gallery. Both projects were funded directly from my Department. Given the serious nature of the issues, I wanted assurance in relation to capital expenditure in other areas under the aegis of my Department. I therefore requested the Secretary General to write to all the State bodies under our aegis in the culture, sport and media sectors seeking information with regard to expenditure on capital projects since 2020 to provide assurance to me and, more importantly, the public, regarding the management of the capital expenditure. Bodies were asked to provide budgetary information on capital projects costing more than €500,000 since 2020. In addition, bodies were asked to identify if there were other capital projects below this level that should be brought to the Department’s attention for any other reason such as where there has been significant expenditure on projects that were abandoned or have materially failed to deliver on their objective.
I recently received a report from my officials in respect of this aspect. The responses received provide assurance that there are not widespread issues similar to those that arose at the Arts Council and the National Gallery. However, an issue was identified in the RTÉ response relating to expenditure on one ICT project. I was concerned about this and I met with the director general on 8 April to discuss further the background to the project, the reasons for the failure to deliver and assurance that this would not happen again.
I asked for written confirmation of the measures in place to protect against such a project failure in the future. The director general subsequently wrote to me last week and his response noted that an external review of this project had taken place in 2023 and the lessons from that report have been incorporated into all major capital projects. RTÉ has taken a number of steps over the past 18 months aimed at mitigating the risk of such an issue recurring. While it is disappointing this happened, it is important to note that it is in the context of a significant number of substantial projects delivered annually by the broadcaster.
I commend the Minister on instructing his Department to initiate this exercise and on providing transparency regarding what may be a huge waste of public money by multiple bodies under the aegis of his Department. Unfortunately for him, these wastes of money seem to follow him. When he was previously Minister with responsibility for the OPW, there were issues with money being wasted, such as the €1.4 million spent on a security hut and the €330,000 spent on the Leinster House bike shed. He will say he is not responsible for this and I understand that, but what he must do is identify who is responsible and address it. This should not be with more window-dressing to ensure there is never the opportunity for this to happen again.
These constant financial scandals would bring down governments elsewhere but they are unfortunately par for the course here. With uncertainty in the world due to Trump's tariffs and not knowing what may happen with the Ukraine war, financial responsibility is of utmost importance. If our economy hits any bump in the road at all, it will fall flat on its face with all this public waste of money.
I do not know if there is a question there. There is certainly a big statement, and I have addressed that statement previously with regard to the OPW. The Deputy will appreciate the Accounting Officer for the OPW came before the finance committee and the public accounts committee and laid out in real terms what happened with regard to the Office of Public Works. No more than I did not know what happened in RTÉ, I had no detail with regard to the OPW. I know this predates the Deputy, but significant time was spent questioning RTÉ officials in these Houses regarding its previous financial performances, the collapse of the licence fee and their contractual obligations as a broadcaster and everything else. This was never unearthed. The Deputy is right, and I appreciate that she has acknowledged that once I became Minister and realised there was a significant problem in the Arts Council and another in the National Gallery, I took it upon myself to ask if there were others. It is on that basis that I am addressing it. However, and I have addressed this issue previously, whether in the Department of Health, or with regard to expenditure in individual schools, in the Department of Education, Ministers cannot possibly be expected to know individual day-to-day expenditures. That is what Accounting Officers are for and that is why we have decision-makers in bodies. That is why I have taken it upon myself to ask those people responsible for this to come forward with explanations. That is what has happened in this case but I appreciate the comments the Deputy made at the start.
The Arts Council's €7 million IT project failure and RTÉ's €3.6 million IT project failure are the headlines, instead of €10.3 million being spent wisely and well. Let us think of all the sports clubs, musicians and arts and cultural bodies that could have done so much with more than €10 million. It simply cannot continue, and I commend the Minister on his efforts to address it. Sinn Féin wants to see all semi-State bodies under the remit of the State auditor and I hope the Government will support that going forward. This is seen as international best practice. The Government could move to do that today if it were really interested in ending this constant waste of public money. Time will tell whether it supports that in the near future.
We have beaten the Deputy to it because RTÉ has been put under the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General and all State entities, including An Post and the other ones I will be taking responsibility for once there is a transfer of function order, come under the auspices of NewERA, which to all intents and purposes is a holding agency or accounting body to keep a watchful eye on the semi-State sector to make sure the public is properly represented. We are doing that. I go back to the central point. The Deputy is right that €10 million used by the Arts Council and RTÉ would make a huge difference to individual sports clubs. What I am going through at the moment is an investigative process to find out what happened and who is responsible. I am sure the Oireachtas committees on public accounts and media, now they are up and running, will probably want to examine this as well. They may well unearth something we have not, and if they do, I will welcome that as well.
I will come to this on a different path. This Minister and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, have acted as if some of this information about the Arts Council and RTÉ is new. We know that Deputy Donohoe's former Department of public expenditure was aware of the issues relating to the Arts Council as far back as 2013, and Deputy O'Donovan's Department - even though he was not the head of it - was provided with a large volume of correspondence over the lifespan of the project in the Arts Council. It is so large in fact that the Minister has so far not agreed to publish it. That project was tracking red as early as 2021. I know the Minister has looked for other projects that are costing the taxpayer millions of euro. What other agencies are affected at this stage, other than RTÉ and the Arts Council?
At the moment there are none to my knowledge. That is not to say there will not be. I did not expect there to be three in the first place, and I certainly did not expect that we would be back to RTÉ again after everything that happened, but we are. I turn to information that has been compiled and the investigative process under way. I would like to think Members support that immediately on becoming aware of this I asked Professor Niamh Brennan, one of the foremost authorities on corporate governance in Ireland, to carry out an investigation into this matter. I have given fairly wide terms of reference. There will be implications. There is no doubt about that, and I am as anxious as the Deputy to hear who said what when, and to whom. I do know it came late in the day to me, and when it did come, after my appointment, I dealt with it. Who knew what prior to that is something I want to get to the bottom of, which is why I have tasked Professor Brennan and the others on the investigative panel to do that body of work for us.
I am glad the Minister raised the issue of Professor Niamh Brennan. This is not a criticism but she carried out a report and review in the culture of governance in RTÉ and she totally missed that this €4 million write-off had been discussed repeatedly by the RTÉ board in 2023, and that there were issues in that project in 2019. Can the Minister in any way assure us in the reviews she is doing that she will not miss other flaws or gaps in the reports from either RTÉ or the Arts Council? This is to ensure that when all of this is finalised, we are assured that the accounts are fully acceptable, but also that any project floundering - as were both IT projects in both organisations from early on - will be scrapped before the expenditure of huge amounts of taxpayers' money.
There is one important thing to point out here, which is that the Department has no role in the sanctioning of capital expenditure within RTÉ. I know the Deputy knows that. With regard to Professor Niamh Brennan, the Deputy's assessment has been quite unfair. I know him a long time and I know he will reflect on that. The work she did on RTÉ unearthed a serious culture that had failed the organisation, the employees, the licence payers and the Oireachtas, and has ultimately resulted in a situation where we now have a body of work under way in RTÉ that will transform it into a far smaller, slimmer and more efficient organisation that is fit for purpose and in which the public has trust. The person who really drove that, by virtue of the report, was Professor Niamh Brennan. That is why, culturally, I also have to get under the bonnet of the Arts Council because that impairment or loss of money was lurking around for a long time. The Deputy is absolutely right, and the whistle was not blown on it. Once I became aware of it, I dealt with it, and the person in this country who has the greatest level of experience in that area is heading it up for us.
I did not mean to question her at all. I was just saying that she failed to see the hole in the accounts concerning that €4 million for IT.
I thank the Deputy. I know everybody is anxious to see what we will ultimately get to by way of a report and how quickly. What I do not want to do is put pressure on the group I have assigned to carry out the work for fear people will say I am in any exercising undue influence. I want a report I can stand over and present to the Oireachtas. I am sure it will be debated by committees and the people relevant to the information contained in it will come before them and will be accountable and co-operate with them in full.
92. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if he will consider establishing a night-time economy commission or advisory group in each major city to provide expert guidance and recommendations, informed by local research and consumer feedback. [22933/25]
Will the Minister consider establishing a night-time economy commission or advisory group in each major city to provide expert guidance and recommendations informed by local research and consumer feedback, to support those operating in the creative arts and culture space, and to offer more people to enjoy the night time and help cultural institutions to extend their opening hours into the evening?
Since becoming Minister, I have been particularly interested in the amount of work my Department has been undertaking on the night-time economy. This has primarily been focused on supporting the development of safe and vibrant nightlife across the country. In 2022, the Department invited all local authorities to put in a night-time economy pilot initiative. The aim is to stimulate night-time activity supported at local level by the appointment of a night-time economy adviser.
An independent panel selected nine locations across the country to take part in the pilot, namely, Dublin city, Cork city, Limerick city, Galway city, Kilkenny, Drogheda, Sligo, Buncrana and Longford town. The Department has provided funding for a two-year full-time night-time economy officer in each one of these selected locations and in recent weeks, I confirmed funding for these posts until September 2026. Having established local committees in each of the locations, the advisers have been conducting local surveys to engage with the local community, gathering data to inform policy decisions, and have been consulting with their advisory committees to aid in the process of developing ideas for the night-time economy in their own locality. It is clear that the requirements vary from town to town and city to city, and following feedback from stakeholders, each adviser develops and publishes an action plan for their specific location.
This year, following a tendering process, we appointed Communiqué International to undertake an independent review of the night-time economy pilots to advise on possible options for the future of the initiative. The review will also critically examine the structures involved in supporting the advisers, the funding levels, the visibility of each in their respective areas and their impact on the economy in the local area. I expect the report from that review in the coming weeks and I look forward to the findings of the review. I will also shortly meet the national implementation group for the night-time economy to hear at first-hand from stakeholders across government and others about their priorities and how best we can continue to work together to improve the quality of night-time activity across Ireland.
I welcome the Minister's actions and look forward to the review. I urge him to consider establishing the night-time economy commission or advisory group in each of the major cities. Our cultural life does not end at 5 p.m. as he knows, and neither should our planning. By grounding these commissions in local research and consumer feedback we ensure that we reflect on the unique needs and opportunities for each community, from live music to theatre to hospitality, and transport the night-time economy as a powerful driver of jobs, tourism and well-being. Cities that nurture it see not only economic growth but safer, more vibrant public spaces. The Labour Party is happy to support this so we can shape a more inclusive, creative and sustainable cultural future, one that shines after dark.
I thank the Deputy for his positive remarks. Any suggestions that will be made on this will be welcome. As I said a while ago, once I have had a chance to meet all the relevant stakeholders and also had the chance to review the documentation that is going to be submitted to the Department when it is done, I will have no problem in engaging with Opposition spokespersons on their suggestions. We are going to be heading fast into the budgetary cycle when we are going to be preparing for the Estimates for next year. I would like to hear the practical ideas of how people feel that town centres and city centres can be improved both from a cultural and social point of view but also in terms of practical measures the Department can help with and with which local authorities can also help. Many people often refer to things that are outside the scope of the Department in terms of arts and culture - it might be public realm- or it might be local authority-related matters - but there is no reason that our role cannot be used as a conduit for information to flow to the relevant agency in that matter.
94. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Catherine Connolly den Aire Turasóireachta, Cultúir, Ealaíon, Gaeltachta, Spóirt agus Meán cén pleananna atá aige chun scéim na ndeontas tithíochta Gaeltachta a reáchtáil arís de bhun Acht na dTithe (Gaeltacht) (Leasú), 2001, chun tacaíocht a chur ar fáil do chainteoirí Gaeilge a bheadh ag iarraidh teach a thógáil nó a athchóiriú sa Ghaeltacht; agus an ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ina thaobh. [22816/25]
Baineann mo cheist go sonrach le cúrsaí tithíochta sa Ghaeltacht agus go háirithe le mír 9 d’Acht na dTithe (Gaeltacht) (Leasú), 2001. Faoin mhír sin, tá cumhacht ag an Aire agus ag an Roinn airgead agus acmhainní deontais a chur ar fáil do chainteoirí Gaeilge chun tithe a athchóiriú nó tithe a thógáil. Níl an mhír sin á húsáid faoi láthair ó 2009 ar aghaidh, áfach. Is mian liom soiléiriú a fháil cén fáth nach bhfuil sí in úsáid.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. Mar is eol don Teachta, tá cúraimí na Gaeltachta agus na Gaeilge ag aistriú chuig an Aire, an Teachta Calleary, faoi láthair. Bhí sé le bheith anseo inniu ach ní raibh sé in ann teacht go dtí an Teach inniu mar gheall ar chúrsaí pearsanta. Rinne an Rialtas ordú Dé Máirt chun na feidhmeanna Gaeltachta a aistriú go foirmiúil ó mo Roinn chuig an Roinn Forbartha Tuaithe agus Pobail, a bheidh mar Roinn na Gaeltachta amach anseo. Tiocfaidh an t-ordú i bhfeidhm ar an 1 Meitheamh. Is é an tAire, an Teachta Calleary, a thabharfaidh freagraí ar cheisteanna na Dála as seo amach. Maidir leis an gceist seo, áfach, rinne an Rialtas ordú Dé Máirt feidhmeanna na Gaeilge a aistriú go foirmiúil. Ar an ábhar sin, tá mé an-eolach ar na dúshláin atá ann i gceantair Ghaeltachta tithíocht a chur ar fáil ar phraghas réasúnta do dhaoine áitiúla. Is dúshlán é seo atá níos leithne ná an Ghaeltacht féin ar ndóigh. Tá an Rialtas seo an-ghníomhach sa réimse seo.
Cé nach bhfuil sé i gceist ag an Rialtas scéim na ndeontas tithíochta Gaeltachta a reáchtáil arís, tá an Roinn ag obair go dlúth leis an Roinn tithíochta agus le Údarás na Gaeltachta chun tacaíochtaí breise a chur ar fáil do mhuintir na Gaeltachta. Tá cainteanna ar siúl idir an Roinn tithíochta agus oifigigh na Roinne Gaeltachta maidir le pleanáil i gceantair Ghaeltachta. Tá grúpa oibre bunaithe ag an dá Roinn, mar aon le hÚdarás na Gaeltachta agus údaráis áitiúla, chun an cheist seo a scrúdú. Mar chuid den obair seo, tá an Roinn Tithíochta, Rialtais Áitiúil agus Oidhreachta ag dréachtú treoirlínte pleanála Gaeltachta faoi láthair ag teacht le gealltanas a tugadh sa chlár Rialtais. Ó thaobh na Gaeltachta de, tabharfaidh an Bille um Údarás na Gaeltachta (Leasú), 2024 cumhachtaí nua don údarás talamh a chur ar fáil le haghaidh tithíochta i gceantair Ghaeltachta.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. Tuigim nach luíonn an cúram seo leis. Tuigim a chás. Tá sé ag seasamh anseo in ionad an Aire, an Teachta Calleary. Is cúis díomá agus imní go bhfuil sé ráite go neamhbhalbh ag an Rialtas anois nach bhfuil sé chun scéim na ndeontas a thabhairt ar ais. Ní thuigim cén fáth mar bhí sé sin ag feidhmiú go maith. In 2009, cuireadh €4 milliún ar fáil don scéim seo. Mar is eol don Aire, tá géarchéim thithíochta sna Gaeltachtaí uilig. Is í an Ghaeltacht i nGaillimh an Ghaeltacht is mó sa tír. Tá BÁNÚ ar an dtalamh agus i dteagmháil le gach Teachta Dála go rialta le cur in iúl cé chomh deacair is atá sé tithe a thógáil sa Ghaeltacht agus na himpleachtaí atá ansin don teanga. Is bealach éifeachtach é seo. Tá an reachtaíocht agus an mhír ann ach níl an Rialtas ag baint úsáid astu. Seachas abairt amháin le rá nach mbeidh an scéim ar ais, níl aon chúiseanna tugtha ag an Aire dom cén fáth.
Tuigim go soiléir cé chomh tábhachtach is atá an cheist seo. Nuair a bhí me i Roinn na Gaeltachta, bhí an-suim agam san ábhar seo. Tuigim cé chomh tábhachtach is atá sé ní hamháin do na ceantair Ghaeltachta ach freisin do dhaoine lasmuigh den Ghaeltacht a bhfuil suim acu sna hábhair a bhaineann leis na Gaeltachtaí timpeall na tíre.
Maidir leis an Roinn, beidh cruinniú ag an Aire, an Teachta Calleary, agus ag an Roinn le hÚdarás na Gaeltachta an tseachtain seo chugainn. Beidh mé in ann, b’fhéidir, iarraidh air teacht ar ais do na hurlabhraithe Gaeltachta agus Gaeilge sa Teach seo nuair a bheidh an cruinniú sin críochnaithe. Cé nach bhfuil an tAire ann faoi láthair, déanfaidh sé a dhícheall an cheist seo a fhreagairt an tseachtain seo chugainn.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. Is maith an rud é go mbeidh cruinniú idir an t-údarás agus an tAire mar beidh an Bille um Údarás na Gaeltachta (Leasú), 2024 os ár gcomhair arís an tseachtain seo. Bhí cruinniú le bheith ann idir BÁNÚ agus an tAire freisin. Tá súil agam go mbeidh an cruinniú sin ann sula dtagann an Bille os ár gcomhair arís. Arís, níl aon chúis tugtha ag an Aire nó ag an Roinn cén fáth nach bhfuil siad ag baint úsáid as an mír seo. Tá sí ann agus tá cumhacht ag an Roinn agus ag an Aire deontais a chur ar fáil chun daoine a chumasú chun athchóiriú a dhéanamh ar a gcuid tithe. Ní thuigim é. Tá muid ag caint faoi Údarás na Gaeltachta, údaráis áitiúla agus an Roinn. A fhad is atá muid ag caint, agus gach duine ag obair i mbealach nach bhfuil tagtha le chéile, beidh géarchéim tithíochta againn. Ní féidir glacadh leis.
Aontaím leis an Teachta. Tuigim cé chomh tábhachtach is atá an t-ábhar seo. Tuigim cé chomh fada is atá muid sa Teach seo ag caint ar an ábhar seo. Maidir leis na ceantair Ghaeltachta, is é sin an polasaí is tábhachtaí do na daoine a bhfuil cónaí orthu sa Ghaeltacht.
B’fhéidir go mbeidh an tAire, an Teachta Calleary, in ann teacht ar ais chuig na hurlabhraithe Gaeltachta agus Gaeilge nuair a bheidh sé ar ais an tseachtain seo chugainn, sula dtagann an Bille os comhair na Dála, chun déileáil leis an ábhar sin.
95. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the way in which his Department will work with officials throughout government to ensure the tourism industry is supported across all regions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23102/25]
I ask the Minister the ways in which his Department will work with officials throughout Government ensure that the vital tourism industry is supported across all regions and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. As I said to Deputy Connolly earlier, this is an issue that is on the way out of our Department. Last Tuesday it was finalised that my colleague, Deputy Peter Burke, will be answerable on tourism. Following the making of a Government order on Tuesday, statutory responsibility for the sector will transfer to the Minister, Deputy Burke, from 1 June. He has already had a number of engagements with key tourism stakeholders across a range of priority areas.
The programme for Government sets out a clear commitment to growing Ireland's tourism industry. Through support for Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland, we want to showcase Ireland as a high quality and accessible destination for both national and international visitors. In addition, the Government will work with Fáilte Ireland to develop a balanced regional spread of tourism throughout the country, promoting and advancing the Hidden Heartlands, Ireland’s Ancient East, the Wild Atlantic Way, and Dublin.
The Tourism Policy Framework 2025-2030 was published by the previous Government last November. I understand that the Minister has asked officials to consider how commitments in the new programme for Government align with the policy framework and to prioritise the finalisation of a new tourism policy which reflects the programme and other Government priorities. I would also like to note that Fáilte Ireland has put in place a set of regional tourism strategies out to 2027 which will be implemented by localised destination and experience development plans. These five-year plans follow a best practice destination stewardship approach, co-created and jointly managed by all key stakeholders in a destination.
In terms of ensuring that all regions benefit from overseas tourism, we know ongoing selling points for Ireland are our scenery, culture and history. Tourism Ireland will be launching a new slow tourism campaign in overseas markets in June, focused on helping people get around the regions and explore the island. In terms of the domestic market, Fáilte Ireland is continuing its investment in destination development, capital projects, marketing, and festivals across the country. Furthermore, the Minister, Deputy Burke, launched a new business events strategy on 29 April to promote the development of our world-class business events sector and realise the full economic benefits of business events for the island of Ireland.
Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Aire. Ní raibh seans agam comhghairdeas a dhéanamh leis as a phost nua sa Rialtas.
I wish to raise a number of items, the first of which is the quality of tourism statistics. Good quality data is really important for tourism policy planning and for making progress in determining where Government resources should go in tourism. There has been an issue, as highlighted in the media recently, in this regard. The Central Statistics Office, CSO, does good work in this area but there is a bit of a dispute as to what is the right data in terms of tourism. The Government has a responsibility to try to resolve this. We should explore ways to enhance the quality of our tourism statistics. We need to get good quality data that we can act on. We also need to see better collaboration between the CSO and Revenue Commissioners which already collects data from tourism businesses. The Minister mentioned Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland, both of which have a role to play there. Tourism is almost like an export business because it involves people from abroad, in the main, coming in and it is very important to reach into the regional economies in Ireland.
The second item is the tourist tax, a matter of quite a bit of debate at the moment as the Minister knows. A tourist or bed tax is becoming more and more common across the world. We have a report from the capital city taskforce which has to be funded and implemented and the tourist tax could play an important role in that regard. It is a common tool used across Europe in particular. On regional tourism, my area of Dublin Bay North has Howth, Bull Island, Dollymount, St. Anne's Park, the Casino in Marino and Fairview Park. It has lots of good, local attractions but the city of Dublin's tourism is very much events-based in the city centre. It would be useful to look at supporting suburban tourism around Dublin, not just around the country but in parts of Dublin and to develop strategies in that regard.
There is a lot there. I thank the Deputy for his kind remarks as Gaeilge at the outset. The Deputy will be glad to know that in regard to the tourist tax, I have no role in that. That is a matter for the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and the Department of Finance. I have personal views on a tourism tax. I do not think that levying a tax on people who are trying to get into the country is a good idea. I could be proven wrong by others but that is moot point.
Regarding the CSO and the Revenue Commissioners, as a former Minister of State in the Department of tourism, I know that it is very important to have accurate data. There are always people who will dispute the numbers and how they are collected, especially for inward tourism. How do people get onto the island? Some arrive into Belfast Airport and drive down, some arrive by ferry and drive down and so on. It is a moot point but it is well made. There is probably scope for a greater level of collaboration between Revenue, CSO, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland. That is something that I will feed back to the Minister, Deputy Burke.
On the tourism tax, I understand the Minister's point which, as he said, is moot but from my perspective, if I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to a European capital, the fact that I am paying a tourism tax in that city to help with its infrastructure does not deter me.
It does not deter people but one of the things that local authority members should look at first is their capacity to raise revenue from existing streams rather than levying a new tax on people. Often there is a rush, for instance, to reduce the local property tax, LPT. Some people are totally opposed to the LPT and have a fundamental objection to it but at the same time, they come up with the concept of a tourism tax. The two things do not sit well together, to be honest. The Dublin local authorities have the potential to look at their own internal revenue bases first before a tourism tax is foisted on people..
We should be looking to do both. We have a report to be implemented which needs new sources of revenue. A tourism tax and other options should all be on the table because it is important for the city.
I think we will leave that matter to the Minister, Deputy Donohoe.
