Vol. 431 No. 4
24 Miss Quill asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade whether he envisages retaining Bord Fáilte as a separate entity; the co-operation envisaged between An Bord Tráchtála and Bord Fáilte; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
(Donegal South-West): The Programme for a Partnership Government 1993-1997 reaffirms the recommendation in the tourism task force report that Bord Fáilte should continue to have primary responsibility for co-ordinating overseas tourism marketing and promotion.
The establishment of the Department of Tourism and Trade has created new opportunities for increasing co-operation between Bord Fáilte and An Bord Tráchtála. Both agencies are represented on the recently restructured foreign earnings committee whose primary task is to examine the question of putting enhanced effective co-ordination mechanisms in place. The committee's overall objective is to achieve the necessary single-minded pursuit of Ireland's economic and commercial interests abroad by all our agencies and programmes.
A firm of management consultants have recently been commissioned to carry out an independent review of current co-ordination mechanisms for the various agencies representing Ireland abroad, and to make recommendations on their enhancement, if necessary, including the activities of An Bord Tráchtála and Bord Fáilte.
Will the Minister agree it would avoid overlapping if, for example, at a number of the major world fairs, Bord Fáilte and An Bord Tráchtála shared stands, where feasible?
(Donegal South-West): I do not want to pre-empt the report of the management consultants carrying out an independent review of current co-ordination mechanisms for the various agencies, including Bord Fáilte and CTT. They will also make recommendations on the enhancement of the various agencies. That would include An Bord Tráchtála and Bord Fáilte. We cannot afford the luxury of overlapping. We should pursue the concept of Ireland Houses which have already been established in London, Paris, Dusseldorf and Milan. The House will be aware that it is proposed to open an Ireland House in New York in September this year. We should await the recommendations of the consultants and strive to ensure that all agencies will work closely together in the best interests of the country.
