Written Answers Nos. 231-239
231. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the extent to which any further discussions have taken place with national or international sporting organisations with a view to attracting events to this country which could have a beneficial effect on tourism; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27733/14]
View answer237. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the extent to which national and international sporting events can be co-ordinated to maximise the benefit to the economy, with particular reference to the need to avoid, where possible, events clashing, thereby providing for steady economic progress throughout the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27739/14]
View answer238. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the extent to which this country continues to be marketed abroad as a venue for major sporting events; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27740/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 231, 237 and 238 together.
The hosting of major sports events can deliver additional international visits and helps to put Ireland onto travel itineraries as a holiday destination. I am supportive of the ongoing efforts of the Tourism Agencies and the National Governing Bodies of Sport to attract international events, subject, of course, to an assessment of the costs/benefits involved in any State financial support. The agencies also pay due regard to the existing calendar of events in Ireland, to maximise overall visitor numbers, but clearly the State cannot control the decisions of non-governmental bodies that may host events.
The hosting of the Giro D'Italia earlier this year, and the Irish Open over the past week showed that the island of Ireland can successfully host large international events and ensure that participants and spectators alike have a great experience when they visit our shores. Later in the year, Croke Park will host the American Football match between the University of Central Florida and Penn State. This will build on the success of the Navy-Notre Dame game in 2012.
In relation to the potential hosting of the Rugby World Cup in 2023, Minister Varadkar and I met with our Ministerial colleagues from Northern Ireland responsible for tourism and sport last January. We established a working group to examine some key issues and to report back to us in the Summer. The working group, on which the IRFU and relevant Government Departments from both jurisdictions are represented, has held a number of meetings to date. I look forward to receiving their report later in the Summer.
The Government is also very supportive of the FAI and Dublin City Council's recent bid to host part of the European Soccer Championships in 2020 at the Aviva stadium.
232. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the extent to which discussions continue to take place with a view to possible participation in the Rugby World Cup by way of offering a possible venue for events; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27734/14]
View answerLast November the Government considered a Memorandum on the discussions and analysis to date on a potential bid to host the Rugby World Cup in 2023. While the Memorandum identified a number of challenges, the great potential of the event is also clear and I believe that hosting the Rugby World Cup on a cross-border basis in 2023 would be a great opportunity for Northern Ireland and Ireland. In response to the Memorandum, the Government expressed strong support for the proposal and for the conduct of further work to get to the stage of making a formal decision to bid.
To progress the matter further, Minister Ring and I met with Minister Arlene Foster and Minister Carál Ní Chuilín, who are the Ministers respectively responsible for tourism and sport in the Northern Ireland Executive, in Armagh on 22 January. We established a working group to examine some key issues further and to report back to Ministers in the Summer. The working group, on which the IRFU and relevant Government Departments from both jurisdictions are represented, has held a number of meetings to date and indeed is meeting again tomorrow. I look forward to receiving their report later in the summer.
233. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the extent to which discussions have taken place with CIE unions in the context of future transport policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27735/14]
View answerMy contacts with the trade unions on transport policy have been about the direct award contracts for the provision of Public Service Obligation (PSO) bus market services held by Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann. These contracts expire later this year. The awarding of subsequent contracts is the statutory responsibility of the National Transport Authority (NTA). The NTA decided in December that all Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann routes will be included in the new five year direct award contracts which the NTA will enter into with the companies next December. However, the NTA announced that 10% of publicly subvented bus services will only remain within the direct award contracts until the end of 2016. After that they will be operated under separate contracts that will have been competitively tendered. It is open to the two incumbent companies to compete for any tendered routes.
In the case of Bus Éireann not being successful in the competitive process, staff would be protected under the European Communities (Protection of Employees on Transfer of Undertakings) Regulations 2003 (the “Transfer Regulations” or “TUPE”). Minister of State Alan Kelly and I meet with the unions representing Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann workers in November to discuss this matter. Arising from that we asked the NTA to put a structured engagement with unions in place and the NTA met with the NBRU and SIPTU unions in January and March this year.
234. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the extent to which any further extension of integrated ticketing is proposed throughout the public transport sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27736/14]
View answerResponsibility to develop, procure, implement, operate and maintain the integrated ticketing Leap Card system in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) became a function of the National Transport Authority (NTA) with effect from 30th September 2010. In addition, section 63 of the DTA Act 2008 extends the Authority’s remit in relation to integrated ticketing to the rest of the State. Noting the NTA's responsibility regarding the issues raised, I have referred the Deputy's question to the Authority for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
235. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the extent to which growth is expected in the tourism sector over the next three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27737/14]
View answer2013 was an excellent year for Irish tourism with the total number of overseas visits growing by 7.2%. All of our main markets grew compared to 2012 and we enjoyed our highest ever number of visits from North America. Figures recently published by the CSO show that for the 3 month period of February-April ‘14, overseas visit numbers grew by 7.5 % compared with the same period in 2013.
In terms of targets for 2014, the approved Tourism Ireland Business Plan for 2014 contains a target of growing visit numbers to Ireland by a further 4% this year and growing the associated revenue from these overseas visits by 7%. As part of its actions to reach this target, Tourism Ireland is undertaking extensive marketing campaigns in all of our main overseas markets. Furthermore, I am confident that measures such as the retention of the lower VAT rate for tourism services, the reduction of the air travel tax to zero from April and the increased air access to Ireland will also help to ensure that the targets are met.
In relation to the next three years, the approved Tourism Ireland Corporate Plan 2014-2016 includes a target of increasing overseas visits by 13% by 2016 compared to 2013. The Plan contains a range of actions to achieve this target, in areas such as destination branding, consumer engagement, and collaboration with other agencies and commercial partners.
236. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the extent to which the hotel and catering industries are sufficient to meet the demands of the tourism sector now and for the foreseeable future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27738/14]
View answerThe most recent statistics for January to October 2013 show hotel capacity unchanged compared to the same period in 2012 but occupancy rates up one percentage point to 64%. Occupancy rates for other forms of accommodation were lower, with the next highest being guesthouses at 53% in the period January to October 2013.
Occupancy rates for hotels are higher in Dublin and have improved considerably over the last couple of years. Although hotels in Dublin remain good value compared to other West European city destinations, in order to maintain the competitiveness of the sector there would appear to be scope for investment in hotels and other tourist accommodation in Dublin, particularly in the city centre where demand is highest.
These statistics would indicate, therefore, that notwithstanding the potential issues with hotels in Dublin, the country as a whole has sufficient stock of tourist accommodation to meet the needs of the industry.
I am not aware of any issues with regard to the availability of restaurants, however, I should point out that they are not required to register with Fáilte Ireland. Given that the level of investment required to enter the market is of an order of magnitude less than that for hotels, I am confident that the market can respond sufficiently quickly to any changes in demand.
239. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the extent to which he expects to be in a position to encourage various local sporting organisations by way of grant aid through the sports capital programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27741/14]
View answerI was delighted to be able to launch the 2014 round of the Sports Capital Programme earlier this year. €40 million is available for allocation. The 2,036 applications received under the 2014 Sports Capital Programme are currently being assessed by officials in my Department. Every application will be assessed by one official and reviewed by another. Given the number of applications received and the detail contained therein, this process takes a number of months to complete. I hope to announce allocations in the next number of weeks.
