Vol. 484 No. 3
329 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the discussions, if any, he has had with representatives of the Irish Tourist Industry to deal with the issues that will affect the industry in view of the single currency for Europe; and the Euro action plan, if any, which has been prepared by his Department in this regard. [21932/97]
The Government is committed to ensuring that the public sector and the economy as a whole are fully prepared for the introduction of the Euro. All Departments, including mine, have prepared a draft Euro changeover plan, for consideration by the Department of Finance, whom the Government has determined will have overall responsibility for co-ordinating Ireland's preparations for the changeover to the Euro. I understand the Second Edition of the National Changeover Plan is expected to be published shortly.
As I informed the Deputy in my reply to a Dáil question on 3 December last, I am monitoring closely the activities of both Bord Fáilte and CERT, the agencies under the aegis of my Department with specific responsibility for the tourism industry, to ensure that they play their part in gearing up the industry for the challenges of EMU. The agencies will be maintaining close contact with the industry in this context and will be taking every opportunity to keep the industry advised on issues impacting on them in the run up to the EMU.
So far, there has been no need for me to meet the industry specifically in the matter but, should such a need arise, I will be very happy to do so.
