Léim ar aghaidh chuig an bpríomhábhar
Gnáthamharc

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 9 Jul 1959

Vol. 176 No. 7

Tourist Traffic Bill, 1959—Second Stage.

I move that the Bill be now read a Second Time. The purpose of this Bill is to provide for the payment of additional funds to Bord Fáilte Éireann to enable the Board to operate a programme of financial assistance for the development of major tourist resorts and the provision of additional bedroom accommodation in tourist hotels.

In the general plan to expand the tourist industry, considerable importance must obviously be attached to the proper development of our tourist resorts. Many Irish tourist resorts are lacking in the facilities and amenities which holiday makers expect to find when they go on holidays. We are all aware and proud of the fact that nature has endowed our country with a wealth of natural beauty and other attractions for visitors, but we must realise that if the tourist industry is to be properly developed, these natural assets must be supplemented by the provision of practical facilities such as promenades, parks and outdoor recreational facilities of various kinds. I think we can take justifiable pride, too, in the fact that we have roads capable of attracting a certain type of tourist trade — that is, motorist traffic — which are better than the roads found in many other European countries. Furthermore, having regard to the uncertainty of the Irish climate, it is essential that adequate indoor recreational facilities should also be available.

Under the Tourist Traffic Act, 1952, the Minister for Industry and Commerce may, on the recommendation Bord Fáilte Éireann and with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance guarantee loans required for the purpose of providing amenities and services at tourist resorts. In addition, he may authorise the Board to make grants to meet the interest charges arising on such loans for a number of years. A scheme for the giving of these guarantees and grants has been in operation since October, 1953, but although resort development proposals have been formulated by local interests in some cases, little real progress has been made in carrying out major improvements. The failure of the guaranteed loan scheme to promote resort development may be attributed to the fact that it can of necessity be used only in the case of works which will earn the revenue needed to repay loan and interest.

Examples of revenue earning works are ballrooms, entertainment halls, amusement parks, boating lakes, pitch and putt courses and tennis courts. There are, however, many improvement works which are essential for the proper and orderly development of tourist resorts, but which are not directly revenue earning, and consequently cannot, in the ordinary way, be financed by means of loans. Works of this kind include basic site development, provision of promenades, parks, river-side walks and pathways. The past experience of Bord Fáilte Éireann in relation to resort development works supports the view that substantial capital investment of a non-remunerative type is essential in order that profit earning activities may later be established. It is the opinion of the Board that in many centres local interests are unlikely to be in a position to proceed with revenue earning projects unless basic amenities of a non-revenue earning character are first provided; and it is clear that non-revenue earning works of this kind will have to be financed other than by way of loan if the general development of our tourist resorts is to be achieved within a reasonable time

It was precisely for this reason that, as announced in the White Paper on Economic Expansion, the Government have decided to set aside a sum of £1 million to assist, by way of grants, the financing of a 10-year programme for the development of major resorts. The new grants, which will supplement expenditure from local resources and the guaranteed loan facilities already available through Bord Fáilte Éireann, will be confined to non-revenue earning works of the kind I have mentioned. The grants will be subject to two conditions, namely, that the works to be carried out at a resort shall form part of a fully co-ordinated plan of development for that resort, and that a substantial local contribution will be forthcoming either from a local development group or from the local authority concerned. The scheme will be administered by Bord Fáilte Éireann and its operation will be limited to 10 years so as to ensure that development of resorts will take place as rapidly as possible.

It is visualised that the works to be undertaken with the help of these grants will constitute part of an overall development plan to be prepared by the local authority and the local development company or other local interests concerned, in consultation with Bord Fáilte Éireann. In the normal way the responsibility for the execution of the grant works will rest upon the local authority, to whom the grant moneys will be issued; and the revenue-earning portion of the project will be undertaken by the local development company with whatever funds are raised locally, as well as by means of loans guaranteed by the Minister under the Tourist Traffic Act, 1952.

It must be realised that the task of developing our resorts is primarily one for local enterprise, even though some assistance from the State is obviously necessary if the job is to be done quickly and properly. I must emphasise, however, that while the State and Bord Fáilte Éireann will continue to assist financially and otherwise in the carrying out of the necessary development works, the main initiative and effort must come from local interests. Local authorities in particular must play their part and adopt a more positive attitude towards the development of the tourist traffic.

Deputies who are interested in tourist development can render the industry no greater service than to use their influence to persuade members and officials of local authorities of the importance of the industry and of the necessity for active local co-operation in order that the potentialities of the tourist traffic may be exploited to the full. Under this Bill, local authorities and other local interests in major resorts will, in the course of the next 10 years, have a golden opportunity of developing and improving local amenities with generous assistance from the State. By availing themselves of the opportunity they can lay the foundation for the establishment of a thriving tourist trade that can bring much needed employment and prosperity to their locality. This Bill provides that over the next ten years Bord Fáilte Éireann will be able to draw a sum of up to £1 million from the Exchequer to be paid in the form of grants to local authorities and other agencies who are willing to prepare and execute suitable schemes for the improvement of local amenities.

About eighteen months ago the then Minister introduced in this House another Tourist Traffic Bill, the purpose of which, inter alia, was to renew the power of the Minister for Industry and Commerce to guarantee loans required for the construction, extension and improvement of hotels and other forms of holiday accommodation. The Minister said on that occasion that hotel accommodation continued to be a major bottleneck in the tourist industry and that further substantial private investment would be necessary in order that the tourist industry might be enabled to meet the demand for more and better accommodation. Over the past two years there has been a small increase in the total number of registered bedrooms in hotels and guest houses, but the rate of progress is painfully slow and far from adequate to cope with the growth in international travel which experts say we may expect in the next few years.

It would appear that one of the biggest deterrents to the expansion of accommodation is the heavy capital cost involved in relation to the comparatively short duration of the tourist season and the consequent low rate of occupancy in hotels and guest houses in tourist centres. Accordingly, in order to provide further encouragement and assistance for the expansion of hotel accommodation, the Government last year decided to authorise Bord Fáilte Éireann to introduce a scheme of grants to cover portion of the cost of additional bedrooms and bedroom/ bathroom units in tourist hotels and motels. The scheme was introduced in May of last year. The grants cover 20% of the cost involved, subject to maximum limits which range from £275 for a double bedroom with bath to £175 for a single bedroom without bath. Where central heating is installed in the new accommodation a further grant of one-third of the cost, subject to an upper limit of £25 per bedroom, is payable.

The scheme of grants can be altered to suit changing conditions and I understand that the Board are proposing certain changes in the scheme as it has operated up to the present. I hope to be able to consider these proposals very soon, but my consideration of them will be influenced by the fact that the Government have already provided a very generous measure of assistance in a number of ways to the hotel industry. In order to finance the scheme to which I already referred over the next 10 years this Bill provides for the payment to Bord Fáilte Éireann of a total sum of half a million pounds in that period.

The House will, I think, agree that the State is being generous in the financial assistance which it is providing for the expansion and improvement of hotel premises. Hoteliers already have the advantages of a State guaranteed loan scheme which assures them that the capital required for the carrying out of improvement works will be readily available. They also have the benefit of the grants made by Bord Fáilte Éireann to cover the interest charges arising on State guaranteed and other loans for the first 5 years during which the loans are in operation. If they carry out improvements to their premises they qualify for remission for seven years of two-thirds of the local rates attributable to the improvements and there is also the concession that 10% of the capital expenditure incurred is allowable as a deduction in computing profits for income tax and corporation profits tax. Furthermore, as announced by the Minister for Finance in his Budget speech, it is the intention to provide in the Finance Bill for the granting of a 2% annual wear and tear allowance for capital expenditure on hotel buildings with effect from 6th April, 1960. Last, but not least, hoteliers benefit directly from the expenditure of almost half a million pounds which is incurred each year by Bord Fáilte Éireann on the general development of tourism and the publicising of Irish tourist attractions.

The special funds which are being made available to Bord Fáilte Éireann under this Bill for the development of tourist resorts and the expansion of hotel accommodation are, of course, in addition to the existing annual maximum grant of £500,000 which is available to the Board under the Tourist Traffic Act, 1955, for the general development and publicising of the tourist industry.

The foreign experts who surveyed our tourist industry some years ago stated that among the best assets which we have for expanding the tourist industry is the capacity of our people to treat visitors with cordiality and good humour, to make them feel at home and to send them away talking of Irish hospitality and kindness. If to these qualities we can add the advantages of well-equipped and well-managed hotels and properly developed holiday amenities, there can be no doubt that the tourist trade will grow and prosper.

I am satisfied that this Bill will make a most important contribution to the development of our tourist traffic industry, and I recommend it confidently for the consideration of the House.

It always seems to me that for some reason or another the development of the tourist trade here has not been exploited to the full and that, although statutory recognition of the importance of the tourist industry goes back as far as 1931 — when the Act of that year gave power to local authorities to raise money for the Tourist Association — and although since then there have been a great number of decisions dealing with development, the value of this industry to the country is not fully appreciated by many who themselves would benefit from its further development. The fact that that development has not been as satisfactory as one would have wished may be due to a number of factors. I do not think it is necessary, or desirable, to go back over the problems which arose out of the Tourist Board as it was constituted some years ago, and the establishment of a second board, Fogra Fáilte, although the attitude of hoteliers and others to the old Tourist Board was undoubtedly, to a considerable extent, one of suspicion. It seems to me that in recent years that attitude has changed and the Board, for a number of years, has been gaining the confidence of hoteliers, owners of guest-houses and others.

This measure which proposes to provide additional funds is designed to improve the facilities and amenities available in different localities, and it is complementary to certain facilities already available under the earlier Acts. It seems to me, however, that there are certain aspects of the matter which have not been fully understood by either the Department or Bord Fáilte. Reference is made in Economic Development to the fact that the grants and loans which were provided under the Tourist Traffic Act, 1952, for the purpose of providing amenities and services, were not availed of to any great extent.

I notice that in the Minister's introductory speech he referred to the importance of local committees initiating proposals and schemes for development. We have got to consider, first of all, what is involved in that suggestion. Local committees must exist, and assuming that there is a local voluntary association such as a residents' association, or some other resort development committee, they themselves have no funds available. I think many Deputies have had this experience. I can point to a specific case in my own constituency where the local residents' association were anxious to get certain work carried out in order that a beach might be made acceptable for visitors. The county council was approached in the matter; Bord Fáilte was approached. Bord Fáilte was prepared to put up a grant and the council was sympathetic, but the problem then arose that, because of the actual nature of the proposed development and where it was contemplated, the risk of injury, or of accidents occurring with a possible risk of injury to users, might involve the county council in liabilities in the event of a claim for damages.

Despite repeated representations by Deputies in the constituency and by the residents' association, the county council had ultimately to refuse to proceed with the development. They were advised by their legal adviser that if a person were injured, or any damage sustained, they would be liable. It was even pointed out to them that, under present conditions, persons frequenting the beach and the area might sustain damage, but their answer was that if that happened at the moment, they had not directly invited or encouraged them. If they carried out development work and, by implication, invited people to avail of the facilities and to enter the beach, they would, as a result, leave themselves liable in respect of any damage which occurred.

I know it may be argued that if the place is of such a nature, it is not a very suitable place for visitors or persons anxious to avail of the swimming facilities. Nevertheless, quite a representative section of the local people think it is in the interests of the residents, as well as the visitors, that this beach at Shankill — a comparatively small place — should be developed and facilities provided. If that problem is to be overcome, some type of liaison arrangements will have to be worked out between Bord Fáilte and the local authorities concerned.

In other cases, I have been aware of hoteliers and others who were anxious to have development work undertaken, but, because of the general nature of the proposed schemes, the heavy costs involved, and the fact that the local authorities were already committed in respect of a number of projects, it was not possible to engender sufficient initiative and enthusiasm. I believe that the Minister and the Department, in conjunction with Bord Fáilte, should consider whatever local problems are involved because it seems there are some cases which come to light in which one of the problems is that there are the actual legal difficulties of either assuming responsibility or, on the other hand, evading responsibility in the event of any claim or difficulty arising.

The inducements which have been provided for the expansion and development of hotel accommodation have not, so far, succeeded in securing the additional accommodation required for the peak tourist trade. Again, I believe, there is another deterrent operating which has been adverted to. There is the fact that, if hoteliers carry out improvements, they are liable to have their valuations increased. I know that in respect of improvements and developments generally there is a seven year remission of rates. It depends, of course, on what type of extension or expansion is carried out as to whether or not the actual work leaves the hotelier concerned liable for revaluation, but undoubtedly the deterrent of a possible revaluation has a very serious retarding effect on those who would otherwise be prepared to provide improved facilities and increased accommodation.

It is not sufficiently recognised that the tourist season here is so short. In most areas it consists merely of the summer months, with possible short additions at particular periods of the year in particular areas. These additions do not apply in every area. For that reason, the Minister should, in conjunction with An Bord Fáilte, consider the effect of revaluation. Undoubtedly, hoteliers will be deterred because of the possible revaluation which can take place if improvements are carried out.

During the course of the Minister's remarks, reference was made to the investigation carried out some years ago by the American experts and to their statement that the people here were both cordial and friendly. It is not sufficiently realised that the best advertisement an hotel, or indeed an area, can have is a satisfied customer. Time and time again the same people come back for holidays here, simply because they are impressed by the cordial reception extended to them and the services which are rendered. In developing the tourist industry and in satisfying our customers, we must consider carefully the importance of providing reasonable facilities at reasonable prices.

Too often critics of facilities here compare conditions and services with conditions and services in the more exotic resorts abroad. It would be foolish to try to emulate such resorts or copy their standards. One of the attractions we have to offer — it is an attraction which exists in many other places as well — is that people are drawn to a particular area because the area is, so to speak, itself and does not try to emulate some other place or achieve standards beyond its capacity or provide services in circumstances entirely different from those in which such services exist elsewhere.

The pattern of life here, the scenery and the natural amenities available are an attraction to many visitors. In addition, the inherent friendliness of the Irish people and the courtesy invariably extended to visitors are in themselves the best advertisement the areas as well as the hotels can get. For that reason it is important that care should be taken to provide good and reasonable accommodation at prices within the capacity of the average tourist or holiday maker.

Another matter I want to stress for urgent attention is the need for further development as rapidly as possible at Dún Laoghaire Harbour. I understand it is proposed to carry out a big development scheme there. Certain works have been undertaken by the Board of Works in conjunction with the authorities at the Pier over the past five or six years and considerable improvements have been effected. Nevertheless, at peak seasons, the congestion is still considerable. I understand a ferry service is contemplated. The sooner that work is carried out the better. It will be a major scheme costing about £400,000.

It will naturally take some time to complete the work, but the importance of getting it under way is obvious. It will have a two-fold effect: first, it will improve the facilities and the services there; secondly, it will provide employment for local skilled and unskilled personnel. The Department, in collaboration with An Bord Fáilte, should press forward with that scheme as rapidly as possible. Dún Laoghaire is one of our most important tourist areas. It is also one of the ports of entry to the country. From that point of view the facilities available should be up to the standard which tourists nowadays expect to find, standards which can create a lasting impression on those who visit here.

This measure will, I hope, add to the facilities already available for developing the tourist industry. This industry is valuable both as an earner of revenue and as a channel through which to provide employment in many parts of the country. It is, in fact, a comparatively cheap way of providing employment dispersed over a wide area. For that reason it deserves encouragement and support from all sections of the people as well as from all sections in this House.

Happily the question of the development of the tourist industry is not a Party question. It is a national question. It is a matter on which all Parties can see eye to eye with one another in regard to the best means of accomplishing the objectives we all realise are essential if we are to make the fullest possible use of our tourist potential.

Situated as we are here on the main road between West and East we have a particular attraction for tourists. Our main problem is to try to induce many tourists from the West to stop here on their way eastwards in the hope that they will spend here some of the money they have earmarked for their holidays. It must be our constant aim to attract to this country as many as possible from the United States of America and from Canada. Not only are these people good tourists but they are good spenders. Their whole economy enables them to spend on their holidays much more money than our own people, for example, could afford. While it is true that we get our share of American visitors I do not think we are getting an adequate proportion of the increased travelling which Americans have been doing in recent years.

A British tourist agency has indicated that they believed the American tourist traffic in Britain for the first five months of this year was up by 14 per cent. on the same period last year and that judging by the number of American tourists now to be seen in London, this percentage may be substantially exceeded by the time the tourist season is over. One can easily realise, of course, that many American tourists, when arranging their holidays in Europe, take direct flights to London or into Europe proper and, therefore, overfly this country but, as many of these tourists are persons of Irish extraction or persons who could be interested in a holiday in Ireland, it must be our constant aim to endeavour to show them that a holiday in Ireland is not only relatively inexpensive, judged by American standards, but that here there are scenic beauties and many other unspoiled attractions which are not as easily or as inexpensively enjoyed in other places in Europe.

Our aim, therefore, must be to endeavour to attract as many visitors as possible from the West because, so far as they are concerned, they cannot get to Europe except by passing Ireland. They have to come this way and our aim ought to be to endeavour to induce them to spend some time here either at the start or at the end of their holidays.

What is the best way of doing that? Nobody has found any substantial or satisfactory substitute in the tourist field for advertising. Every country in the world has found it necessary to print literature and to distribute it lavishly through agencies and through their own tourist offices. They have found it a compelling obligation to advertise the attractions of their country extensively. I do not think there is any short cut for us in that respect. We must continue to advertise the attractions of Ireland. While it would involve colossal expenditure to undertake a large-scale advertising campaign over the entire United States of America, we must recognise that expenditure on advertising is not expenditure from which there is no tangible return. Advertising of tourism must be regarded as a long-term investment which, in the long run, will pay dividends from the point of view of the tourist trade.

I welcome, therefore, this Bill to provide the amenities and the attractions which it envisages. I would welcome, also, still greater investment in advertising overseas as being, in the long run, the method best calculated to reach the potential tourist and to excite his interest in a holiday in Ireland. It may be said that the State cannot afford to undertake expensive advertising in America because America is not a country; it is a continent. However, ways and means might be found whereby the revenue from some forms of taxation or levies could be hypothecated to advertising our tourist potentialities. In that way, the moneys available for advertising could be augmented so that it would be possible to reach a larger number of potential tourists.

The main thing is to ensure that the attractions of this country will be kept before potential tourists. The main, and probably the most profitable, type of tourists that we can get are those from North America, that is, Canada and the United States, on the one hand, and from Great Britain, on the other hand. If we could get a fair share of the holiday traffic from these countries, we need not try to bring people from the far ends of the earth. The concentration of advertising in Great Britain, America and Canada would pay substantial dividends, some immediately and some at a later date. If this country could be made a draw for American, Canadian and British tourists, that in itself would advertise the country over a wider field and induce people from other countries also to come here.

What we have to recognise — and this is useful from the point of view of promoting agreement between all Parties —is that, next to our cattle trade, tourism is our best export. We manage to balance on our external trade only because of the fact that we have a very substantial income from tourism. The more we can develop the tourist traffic, the more we can earn foreign currency, the more we can provide employment diffused over the entire country and, at the same time, provide ourselves with a means to maintain existing living standards and possibly to improve them. Therefore, from the school up, we should endeavour to inculcate in all our people the idea that it is a patriotic duty to do everything possible to promote the tourist traffic, that every possible effort must be made to make the tourist at home because the tourist is a customer capable of spending substantial sums of money which will improve the Irish economy as a whole and be of considerable value to local communities.

I should like to suggest some things that might be done which might not only improve the appearance of the country but would remove eyesores which are a reflection on our energy. Throughout the country, frequently on the main roads, one sees a tumbledown shack. The roof is falling in. Nobody lives in the place. The most marvellous collection of wild, exotic plants grow around it. It stands there as a gaunt reminder of our earlier poverty and gives the tourist the impression that he has arrived a little too late to see the Irish in all their pristine squalor and misery.

Is there any reason why local authorities could not be set to work next Monday to demolish all these ruins which are an eyesore and a disgrace on the Irish countryside? You get into your motor car at Inchicore and drive to Cork. At almost every village and town on that run you will see these eyesores. You will see festering rubbish heaps used for the dumping of sewage, tin cans, old prams, buckets, bicycle wheels, bedsteads and all kinds of repelling chattels which nobody apparently wants to own.

Onomatopoeia.

And the feather bed.

I have urged this with Ministers in the inter-Party Government, too. What is the difficulty in getting local authorities to go out with a bulldozer and level these?

They would not consider it productive work in present circumstances.

Why do we want to parade these before the visitors? Are we afraid we will impress them too much with the attractions of the countryside? Do we think we will curb the visitor's exuberance and exaltation of what he sees by keeping these horrible eyesores along the main roads on which he must necessarily travel?

You come to another structure, the old shed erected 100 years ago. It has never been painted since. It is covered with corrugated iron which is rusty and well holed at the top. That is paraded there, too, so that the tourist may have another look at the seamy side of Irish life. Surely it ought to be possible in 1959 to get rid of these kinds of structures, at least so far as the main road is concerned? If we have an affection for these, well and good. If some person has an affection for that kind of wreck and and good. However, I do not see why he should be allowed to bring it on to the main road. Let him take it on to the by-roads if he is fond of that kind of architecture and all these kinds of antiquities. There is no reason why his insane mind should be permitted to parade these articles of property on the main road, to the denigration of the country and to the horror of the tourist who cannot understand why these things are left there.

I urge the Minister — this will not cost very much — to get the Minister for Local Government to endeavour to impel local authorities to use their powers to demolish these eyesores so that the beautiful little villages which are to be seen every five or ten miles along our main roads will not be spoiled by these dreadful structures which are paraded there in all their filth and squalor.

Local authorities have now come, very largely, close to the end of their house-building activities. There must be a substantial change for many of them in so far as house-building activities are concerned. Their engineering staffs to-day are as heavy as they were when house-building was at its height. There must be some time available to these engineering officials and that section of local authorities which could be set to the doing of other kinds of work. Is it too much to ask that local authorities should be required to take town by town and village by village to see what the structural imperfections are in these places and to endeavour to remedy these defects by whatever steps appear to be open to them?

In a number of instances, local authorities have demolished houses in their towns and villages and have built new houses but the old ruins still remain. I do not see why the local authority should not be required to demolish the old ruins and build new and decent houses on the sites of the old ruins or make some other use of them instead of having them there to the annoyance of everybody who wants to try to make this country not merely progressive and enlightened, from the standpoint of its habits and its social amenities, but to look it as well.

I agree with the Minister when he says that these grants will be available for providing amenities and attractions for tourists provided there is some local effort by private enterprise or by county councils or by local authorities generally. I do not think it unreasonable to ask local authorities, whatever their status may be, to help in promoting the tourist trade and to help in providing amenities and attractions in order that that trade may be better catered for than it is at the moment. After all, if a local authority has within its area certain tourist attractions which could be embellished and made still more attractive it is a good investment of their money to endeavour to exploit the attractions they have so as to bring more tourists there.

Not only is the tourist nationally advantageous to us from the standpoint that he is a money spender but he spends his money in local areas and is thus helping local ratepayers to pay their rates with a greater ease than if he were not there. Therefore, local authorities stand to gain substantially in places where there are potential tourist resorts. It is not unreasonable to require them to spend some money in developing the amenities and attractions of their particular areas.

Something should be done about signposts. I think there has been a considerable improvement in recent years in signposting the country. I still find it hard to analyse the kind of Irish mind that takes a malicious delight in twisting signposts only for the purpose apparently of misleading the tourist or the stranger. It is hard to believe that any national purpose is served by this curious method of diverting signposts. I do not know who is responsible. I suppose that, if we knew, the guilty parties would appear in the courts in due course. It may be that our aged citizens indulge in this craze but I suspect the offenders are at the other end of the age group.

Would it not be possible for the Minister to ask the Minister for Education to get teachers in schools to lecture children not only on the bad citizenship of twisting signposts but on the harm they do to the country by misleading tourists and strangers and possibly causing doubts in people as to the direction in which they are going — very often on a dark night when there is nobody available for consultation as to which is the right direction a person may desire to take in the course of his journey? Something ought to be done there. We ought to get away from this mistaken concept of recreation in twisting signposts. That, apparently, in some parts of the country, is a kind of a national pastime. The sooner it is eradicated the better.

Dublin is one of the loveliest cities in the world. The more you travel the world the more you see that Dublin has few equals. It is situated on the coast. It is surrounded by hills. You can fish, hunt fox and catch salmon, six miles from the General Post Office. I do not think you can get these conditions in any other city in the world and I have seen a good part of the world. The strange part of the thing is that, although you can get those attractions here, if you want a boat trip out in Dublin Bay, you cannot get it. You may take a chance and take a small boat out and just see the wave in front of you and the wave behind you, but surely it ought to be possible, in a city like Dublin, the capital of the country, with a population of approximately 600,000 people, the main entry gate for tourists, to organise some boat trips from the city out to the bay and north and south of the coast so as to give our visitors an opportunity of seeing the coastline and enjoying the salubrious air which the bay provides in such reckless abundance for us.

Certain boat trips were organised some years ago and many people who were of adult age then can remember some disedifying scenes associated with those nautical pilgrimages. I am not advocating a repetition of these Captain Kidd adventures into the bay, nor am I suggesting that those who go there should behave like sailors with their rum jars in the days of old. I am suggesting instead that some body ought to get together — Dublin Corporation is probably the best body to do it — and promote a scheme for boat trips in this delightful bay and along a delightful coastline, and that these trips should be run under conditions in which temperate people, ladies and children and elderly people, may go without fear of being shipwrecked by more boisterous trippers on a venture of that kind. Something should be done in that direction. Money can be earned and it would add to our attractions as a tourist country.

The last point I want to mention is the possibility of developing what I think could be the finest boulevard not merely in this country but in the world. There is a stretch of coast from Sandymount to Dún Laoghaire which is ideal for utilisation as a boulevard. Unfortunately, the railway is there, with the result that you cannot get across the railway except over some hump bridge or through some lattice work and then you get down to the beach which is in an undeveloped state because the railways have prevented development.

In 1959, it ought to be possible to lower the railways there. Railways in every city in the world travel underground for much longer distances than from Sandymount to Dún Laoghaire. Lower the railway along that stretch and you can build along that seafront a boulevard which would be the envy of many countries in the world. It could be a great attraction for tourists. It could in particular be a great attraction for the citizens of this city and it could be a very good money spinner as well.

I know that is a pretty big job. Some of the best things in the world are the most expensive to get but the very fact that it is expensive and would take some time ought not to prevent our considering it and prevent our starting to survey the possibilities of building there what I think could be the most magnificent boulevard in the world. It could in fact pay for itself in half a dozen different ways, if we only had the courage and the determination to start, but if we allow ourselves to be frightened by the financial cost of it, then it will never be done until some Government comes along determined to establish a precedent in a field like that and go ahead and build the boulevard.

I do suggest to the Minister who is responsible for tourism that this is a matter well worth considering. I tried to get it considered and I brought city officials to the scene and showed them what the advantages were, but at the time they were distraught with their own financial worries. I suggest to the Minister that if he sets his hand to the task of having this possibility explored, before he is many years older, he could see the boulevard being christened after him. I do not begrudge him that honour, if he will only set his hand to the task.

I welcome this measure and congratulate the Minister on it. I do so coming from what I can claim to be the major tourist centre in this country, Galway and the West. A great deal can still be done to add to the amenities we have by the proper expenditure of this money. I should like to see greater advertising done over the radio and over television. The co-operation of the Continental and American television companies can be obtained for that purpose quite easily.

We are inclined not to appreciate the amount of good that youth can do in the country. Young people who come in here, travelling as it were on a shoestring, can be our greatest advertisers in the years to come. Many of them are students. The Minister was a student once and realises the amount of money a student usually has. However, they take away impressions with them which in the years to come are to our advantage. They advertise the country in their different spheres, whether they are medical men or whatever their profession may be.

Tourism is our second best industry and we are coming close to the day when it will be our best. I agree with Deputy Norton in regard to the demolition of unsightly, derelict buildings. Unfortunately, the hands of our local authorities seem to be tied in that respect. There is a great deal to be done and the Minister should use his good offices to see that it is done. We are blessed with grand scenery and the visitors say we are blessed in that we are a grand people, but we could be still grander if our schools could instil into youth a proper appreciation of what tourism means to the country. A lot of leeway has to be made up there, because although it is not extensive, there is a certain amount of hooliganism which can be eradicated only by educating children in the schools in the importance of a civic spirit.

I agree this money will be well spent if it is for the purpose of providing amenities and I would suggest that the Board should carry on as they have been doing up to the present in Salthill, Galway. I would suggest that a further improvement could be made by the provision of a pier. The importance of a pier there cannot be overstressed because Galway Bay is known the world over.

If it is not, it should be.

We may thank Bing Crosby who has done such a lot for Galway, the West and for Ireland by singing "Galway Bay" all over the world.

Guinness had a lot to do with it.

We have better stuff than Guinness can give in the hills around Galway. Unfortunately, they would not appreciate it in this House,

We cannot get it.

I shall get you a drop. I mentioned the question of amenities in Salthill. I should like to see further development of the amenities on Lough Corrib which is a vast expanse of water. Before I conclude. I should like to refer to the matter of the improvement of dwellings. I said before — I could not say it often enough — that where people develop hotels and guest houses, they are faced with a heavy impact of rates. They may get relief for a number of years. Where guesthouses and hotels are used for only three months of the tourist season, they have to pay the full rate for the nine months. I think that is unfortunate. I am just bringing the matter to the Minister's notice.

I again congratulate the Minister on bringing in this Bill. I hope to see an increase each year. We have done a lot for agriculture and I would like to see as much done for tourism.

First of all, I should like to join with the other Deputies in welcoming the Bill. I do not think the sum involved is unreasonable, provided the best use is made of it. It should have an advantageous effect on our attempts to attract tourists to this country and make it worth their while to come here.

Personally, I am more inclined to advertise the natural advantages we have in this country rather than spend money in creating artificial facilities such as piers, promenades and similar types of outlay. I know that these are considered attractions, but, having regard to the amount of money which we can afford to spend on tourism, I feel that the best expenditure would be to make available to the tourists the natural beauties of the country which do not cost us anything at all. By that I mean improving the approach roads to beauty spots throughout the country so that tourists can get to them without any difficulty.

Even a simple thing like the cutting of hedges would open up a greater view of the countryside than they can get today in a great part of the country. The Minister should encourage the local authorities concerned to take the initiative in this regard by offering a service to the farmers whose land abuts on a main road or on a good secondary road to assist them by some mechanical means to cut these hedges and keep them cut, particularly during the Summer months.

There is just one word in the Bill that I find some objection to. Perhaps, the Minister would allay my fears when replying. The suggestion here is that these grants are for the development of the major tourist resorts. The word "major" is one that causes me some little concern because I think it would be a pity to concentrate only upon the major tourist resorts at the expense of the smaller but nonetheless beautiful tourist resorts elsewhere in the country. I hope, therefore, that at least some of this money will be available for the small resorts with the necessary facilities, which have small hotels and guest houses and which at the same time have the advantage of natural scenery.

Deputy Norton made reference to unsightly buildings. I do not know whether he intends to include in that the large old country houses bought by certain well-known firms and individuals for the purpose of demolition. They are demolished only in so far as the timber, slates and windows can be sold quickly on the site, leaving the very unsightly shell of these large country houses to stand as a gaunt reminder of the days that are past — and a very unsightly reminder. I think it should be possible to get the local authorities concerned to make it obligatory on the person carrying out the demolition to demolish these large country houses down to the ground. A number of them throughout all parts of the country certainly give a melancholy and very unsightly appearance to the countryside.

Deputy Norton referred to Dublin as being the major tourist inlet to the country. I would suggest that, with the present development of air traffic, Shannon Airport is becoming more and more important as a tourist inlet to the south and west of Ireland, if not the entire country. In considering the expenditure of this money, special consideration should be given to the wide area to which Shannon Airport gives access. In that regard, I have in mind Limerick city itself which on a much smaller scale is, I think, a very perfect example of a small historic Georgian city. It is well worthy of a visit by many tourists.

We have in Limerick city one of the most historic castles in the country — King John's Castle. Some time ago, Limerick Corporation made application for a grant to put that castle in proper repair. At the time, they were not successful. I should like to appeal to the Minister that, when the application is re-submitted, having regard to that historic part of Ireland on the banks of the Shannon, he should give favourable consideration to allocating some funds to restore this historic building.

I do not know whether it is intended that the £500,000 in subsection (b) of Section 2, which covers grants for the development of holiday accommodation, should include small guesthouses or lodgings. I should be sorry to think that it is confined solely to hotels or large guest houses because most of our seaside resorts have a large number of quite small lodgings which are let each year, the owners of which are quite unable to find the necessary capital to provide even such common or garden amenities as bathrooms and, in some cases, toilets, within the confines of the house.

Most of us know that the tourist season in parts of the country is confined to a bare two months, or at the outside, three months. The income which the owners derive from letting these lodgings is certainly not sufficient to allow them to carry out these comparatively minor modifications and reconstructions. I hope that this sum will be available to these people, provided they are prepared to do a decent job at a reasonable outlay.

For the past two years, I raised on two or three occasions by way of question to the Minister for Local Government the matter of some control in regard to the erection of advertising hoardings. I understand that some form of legislation is pending and will be introduced, I hope, in the not too distant future.

I should like to draw the Minister's attention to the fact that these hoardings are going up at an increasing rate on our main roads and are certainly detracting from the appearance of our unspoiled countryside. I would urge the Minister, or his colleague, the Minister for Local Government, to take the necessary steps, through An Bord Fáilte, to prohibit the erection of these monstrosities which are ruining the countryside. I am glad to see this Bill being introduced and I am sure it will have a speedy passage.

There was quite an amount of sound common sense in what both Deputy Norton and Deputy Russell said with regard to various matters which might be rectified under this Bill. One matter on which I should like to comment is that the Tourist Board, in their wisdom, never seem to pay the slightest attention to a tremendous potential which we have in Ireland, and particularly in Dublin, as a tourist attraction. I refer to the efforts of the people who visit this country, and Dublin in particular, to trace some of the characters and locations referred to by James Joyce in his various writings.

Everyone must appreciate, particularly journalists and anyone connected with literary or cultural activities, that five out of six Americans, if you enter into a discussion with them, will ply you with questions about various aspects of Joyce's work and the various places mentioned by him in his books. It is a serious reflection on the Tourist Board that up to now they have not thought it worth their while even to put up plaques or produce a proper handbook or guide to these places. It is rather an extraordinary thing, seeing that many university students, or graduates of American universities, when they are doing a doctorate or a thesis on English literature take Joyce for their subject. Myles na gCopaleen referred to that on several occasions and I suppose we have 14 or 15 different authorities writing on Joyce. It is a matter of tremendous national importance. I hope I am not straying too far from the Bill but it does state that money can be devoted to major tourist resorts and I think some of this money might be spent in this way.

We have no memento of Seán Ó Casey and there is not even a plaque on his house. About a year ago the magazine Life in one issue had a most beautiful production in colour which dealt with O'Casey and his early days in Dublin. It showed his house and different scenes referred to in some of his plays. It would be a tremendous asset to have a handbook on those lines and it could also deal with George Bernard Shaw. The Minister might say that this is a matter for the Arts Council. There should be co-ordination, I respectfully submit, between the Arts Council and the responsible body, whichever body thinks it is responsible. The Tourist Board, when they appreciate the fact that nothing is being done to publicise these tremendous attractions, should step in or the Minister should use his good offices in the matter. Something will have to be done about it because it is very unfortunate that we are lacking in this respect.

Deputy Russell referred to old houses. I would say that the Minister should ask the Tourist Board to spend some of this money, possibly in conjunction with the Minister for Lands, for the preservation of old houses. I do not know whether it was a Fianna Fáil Government or a Coalition Government which allowed Lady Gregory's house to be demolished. I personally, and very many other people also, took a very poor view of that. It was criminal to let a residence such as that be razed to the ground. It is gone and now we have people going down to Coole Park where all they can see is the remains of the historic past.

It is essential that there should be some co-ordination between the responsible bodies. At present we have too many bodies working, or thinking that they are working, on different cultural projects which should be co-ordinated under the aegis of the Tourist Board. The Minister for Lands is allowing the demolition of these old buildings. I do not think we have anything in this country comparable with the National Trust in Britain.

Somebody must have turned the signposts for the Deputy.

Why is that? I am talking about the spending of money on major tourist resorts and suggesting to the Minister that he should ask the Board to use some of that money for the purpose I suggest and that the Board might co-ordinate its activities with the Minister for Lands who has charge of these old houses and who is allowing some of these masterpieces and historic buildings to be demolished.

The Minister should clarify one point. I do not think it is fair that he should give us the interpretation of "a major tourist resort." Governments change and Ministers change and it should be specifically written into the Bill what "a major tourist resort" is under this Bill. Has it to be a city or a town with so many thousands of people in it? Why put in the word "major"? Who is the competent authority to interpret the meaning of the word "major" in this Bill? Surely the word could be omitted and just "tourist resort" left in? Are places such as Kilkee, Lahinch, Lisdoonvarna and Dingle, allowed to qualify under this Bill, or would Limerick City be considered "a major tourist resort"? The Minister himself may be satisfied that there is no necessity to change the Bill but, when an application comes before the Board, how is the Board to decide who qualifies and who does not?

With regard to tourist bureaux which derive their source of income from voted moneys, I should like to say that I take a very poor view of the present position that obtains at Shannon Airport where the head man in the bureau is a non-national.

Surely that is administration?

It may be.

Maybe he read too much of Joyce.

I know Deputy Mulcahy. People at the head of affairs like the Arts Council and the tourist bureaux think James Joyce and O'Casey are amoral and immoral.

A discussion on Joyce and O'Casey, although it might be quite interesting, is not in order.

The tourist bureau in Limerick City closes at 6. p.m. and I believe its opening hours should be extended. I thoroughly agree with Deputy Norton that we should pay more attention to the middle-class British visitor, and I should like the Minister to be specific when giving his views on the matter of the smaller hotels and boarding houses mentioned by Deputy Russell. There are not sufficient officials in the Tourist Board at the present time to correct the injustices perpetrated by some of these establishments which go under the names of guest houses and lodging houses.

I should also like the Minister to say if indoor swimming pools would qualify for assistance under the terms of this Bill? We are very far behind in the provision of indoor swimming pools and swimming facilities of all types, except on the coast. If a local authority, be it a county council or a Corporation, is willing to make contributions for the provision of swimming pools would the Minister tell us would they be deemed worthy of consideration for the payment of a grant?

The only other matter to which I want to refer is the question of the grading of hotels. Anyone who has even a slight knowledge of the grading of hotels knows it is not working out satisfactorily at the present time. In some peculiar way an hotelier knows when the inspector who grades hotels is coming. He is given a sumptuous repast for lunch or dinner and, if he stays the night, he will be treated royally, and so will all the other regular occupants of the establishment.

Surely that is a question of administration? The Deputy may not discuss roads, swimming pools, and everything else, on this Bill.

Anyway, I have made my point and I hope the Minister will be good enough to refer to the matters I have mentioned.

I am very glad that this Bill has received the acclamation it has received from all sides of the House. It is a healthy sign that there is an appreciation of the value of the tourist industry to the economy of the country, and that it is now no longer a matter of political debate between different Parties in this House. The main question is now one of approach. While we have heard no strong exception to the Bill, the scope of the debate largely centred on what further and better things can be done apart from this Bill, and apart from the other facilities that have been provided for the development of the tourist industry.

The points that have been made are, in many cases, outside the scope of this Bill but, nevertheless, they cannot be overlooked if we are to complete the overall picture in adding to our tourist amenities and making the country in general more attractive. The lack of liaison between the local authorities on the one hand, and local development committees and Bord Fáilte on the other, is a matter in which I think individual Deputies can exercise their influence to bring about a better liaison, and a better spirit of co-operation than exists now. I do not think there is any lack of spirit of co-operation but there is still the old feeling, when a job requires to be done, that everybody feels it is the business of somebody else to do it. I believe that local authorities and local development committees should co-operate to the fullest extent with Bord Fáilte in providing any amenities that can be provided. The important thing for local authorities is to realise that the development of tourist business is something as much within their competence, and within the obligations they should take upon themselves, as it is of the Government. Therefore, as Deputy Norton stated, it is reasonable that local contributions should be forthcoming in order to balance whatever grants may be given under the first part of this Bill.

The legal difficulties to which Deputy Cosgrave referred are not very clear to me. I do not really know what he has in mind but, if there are such difficulties I am sure, in so far as they hinder or affect the work of Bord Fáilte, they will get over them. If we are to accept our system of valuation as affecting the level of rates to be paid in respect of property, I think we shall have to expect that, in so far as improvements are made in property, there will have to be some corresponding increase in valuation and a consequent increase in the amount of rates to be paid. Apart from the reliefs given to hoteliers to improve their accommodation in the manner it is suggested it should be done here — that is the seven years' remission — I understand that the valuation officers take into account the usage and occupancy of the additional accommodation. Therefore, in the case of purely tourist hotels, they can be full sure they will not be assessed by the valuation commissioners on the same lines as other property that will have a higher degree of occupancy during the year.

Deputy Norton and Deputy Cosgrave mentioned the question of amenities in Dublin and around Dublin. The pier at Dún Laoghaire has been improved to a considerable extent in recent years and I understand that whatever improvements are still outstanding will be undertaken, and undertaken vigorously. In so far as my Department is concerned in it, it is the intention to facilitate these improvements and have them done in the minimum time.

Deputy Norton stressed the importance of advertising in countries abroad. I do not think we can, as he said, afford to take any short cut in that respect. Naturally, we cannot afford the extensive advertising campaigns undertaken by countries better off than we are. Nevertheless, we must realise that this type of advertising must be done to the fullest possible extent that we can afford. I believe it would be a very effective form of advertising if we could get displayed, on Sundays or ordinary days at resorts in or around London and especially on the road home from these resorts, some of our Irish scenes. I believe it would be very effective if we could in some way display such resorts as Owenahincha, Rossnowlagh and Caherdaniel where there are miles and miles of golden sands with very few people sitting on them or bathing from them. I believe that the English people as a result of increased motor traffic are getting rather tired of making the most hazardous journey to and from their own resorts, especially at week-ends and on bank holidays.

If we could sell — I know some people do not like the word "sell" in that context — the attractions of these resorts where there is plenty of space and accommodation, I think we could induce many more English people to come here.

The complaint Deputy Norton made about unsightly ruins is perhaps timely in certain respects. In a debate such as this, is it a hardy annual. On a recent change of Government, some of us were new to government and naturally wanted to clean up everything, but one of the things on which we found the greatest agreement was the cleaning up of unsightly ruins. As a result of discussions by the Government, the Minister for Local Government was instructed to go ahead with legislation dealing with the removal of unsightly ruins in villages and towns throughout the country. I understand he has gone ahead to the extent that at least the heads of the Bill have been drafted so that we hope before long the Minister or the local authorities will have power to ensure that these unsightly ruins will not be there much longer as a blot on our countryside.

Deputy O'Malley was on a plane rather higher than I expected, up with Lady Gregory and James Joyce, but I can assure him that while the singing of the praises of these writers and the perpetuation of their memories would not be germane to this Bill, I believe that An Bórd Fáilte do not overlook the tourist value of the association of these famous literary people with this country.

The question was asked: what is a major resort? That will have to be left to the Board to decide. They must decide in what resorts they will expend the moneys or give the grants which are available under this Bill. There will be no hard and fast rule and I certainly should not like to take it on myself to define and spell out on a Bill such as this what a major resort will be, how many houses, how many miles of road or how many people should normally reside in it. There will be no hard and fast rule. If the Board see a resort developing and if they see the need for making provision under this Bill for schemes of development, I am sure they will do so. There will be no rigid application of a set of rules.

Similarly, in regard to the point made both by Deputy Russell and Deputy O'Malley that some assistance should be given towards making extra accommodation available in boarding houses, the test in this respect is being provided in the Bill. The test is that the premises should be registered with Bord Fáilte. I am sure both Deputies will agree that this is essential in order to ensure the premises will reach a certain minimum standard and will enhance the development and attractions of a particular resort. So long as the premises are registered, there will be a certainty they will conform to minimum standards and as the intention of the Board is not only to extend but also to increase the standard of tourist accommodation, I believe that the better the premises, naturally the greater the grant will be because in any case the cost will be higher. That will be the policy of the Board — not only to improve resorts but also the accommodation available.

I think these are the major points that have been raised and I conclude by thanking the House for the reception it has accorded this Bill.

Question put and agreed to.
Committee Stage ordered for Tuesday, 14th July, 1959.
Barr
Roinn