Vol. 435 No. 2
7 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade his views on the recommendation contained in the recent report prepared for the European Parliament which recommended the introduction of a Community tourism policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
In the absence of a precise reference in the Deputy's question, I assume that the report to which she refers is "The Role of the EC in regard to Tourism and Regional Development" prepared for the European Parliament by Fitzpatrick Associates.
The report was received by my Department only on Tuesday evening last, and I am not in a position to comment on either its content or its recommendations. It will, of course, be examined by my officials in due course.
As the report is addressed to the EP, it is up to that institution to deal with it, in the first instance.
I know there were some staff changes to cause the Minister's Department to be established but I find it difficult to understand how my colleague, Deputy McManus, tabled a question before the Minister received the report.
It may not be this report to which she is referring but some other report.
The Deputy is referring to the report the Minister has mentioned. She seems to have it and it is heavily annotated. Perhaps when the Minister gets a chance to talk to his officials about it, he might communicate with us. I invite the Minister in the interim to indicate to the House his views on whether, for example, too little emphasis is placed by the Community and member states on the role of tourism as an instrument for regional development.
I concur with the Deputy's last remark. This report was published in October and was sent to the European Parliament and we only got a copy last Tuesday. Given Deputy McManus's family background and her known interest in tourism I am not surprised that she would have a copy of such a report fairly quickly.
