Pearse Doherty
Question:1369. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport further to Parliamentary Question No. 1235 of 6 November 2012, if he will now provide the details requested. [16289/13]
View answerTuesday, 16 April 2013
Questions (1369, 1370, 1371)
Pearse Doherty
Question:1370. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport further to the purchase of the Ireland.com domain name from The Irish Times for €495,000 in October 2012 by Tourism Ireland Limited which operates under the auspices of his Department, if he is concerned that DiscoverIreland.com is still the website most promoted by Tourism Ireland in traditional marketing. [16290/13]
View answerPearse Doherty
Question:1371. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport further to the purchase of the Ireland.com domain name from The Irish Times for €495,000 in October 2012 by Tourism Ireland Limited which operates under the auspices of his Department, if he is concerned that according to website rankings published by Alexa.com that Ireland.com is ranked 86,595 in the world in terms of global traffic while DiscoverIreland.com is ranked higher at 81,470 in the world. [16291/13]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1369 to 1371, inclusive, together.
As I have previously stated, the decision to purchase the domain name “Ireland.com” to promote the island of Ireland overseas on the web, and an analysis of a business case in this regard are operational matters for Tourism Ireland Limited and its Board. I understand that the agency has previously written to the Deputy outlining the rationale for the purchase.
In respect of the Deputy's questions, it is important to note that Tourism Ireland is not a body that operates exclusively under my Department's auspices. Tourism Ireland was established under the framework of the Belfast Agreement of Good Friday 1998. It is a body that is jointly funded by the Irish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive, and operates under the auspices of the North/South Ministerial Council through the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland and my Department here. The board is appointed by the North-South Ministerial Council which includes members of the Deputy’s party.
With regard to the other specific issues raised by the Deputy, as these are again operational matters, I have referred them to Tourism Ireland for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.