Following the Government's decision in November 1994 to accept the recommendations contained in the A. D. Little review of Bord Fáilte, the board proceeded with their implementation. Central to the ADL recommendations is the proposal that Bord Fáilte should concentrate and devote its resources to the core roles of promoting and marketing Ireland overseas as a tourist destination, helping the less mature elements of the industry develop and providing information to industry decision makers. To this end, a new mission statement and list of functions was drawn up and a new management structure put in place. A new international marketing director and new general manager Europe were appointed along with 20 new marketing staff in order to fill skill gaps. Furthermore, several non-core activities were outsourced, such as the registration and grading functions in respect of certain types of accommodation, tourism product approvals, publication of the Discover Ireland series, majority ownership and operation of the Gulliver information and reservation service, and responsibility for the Tidy Towns Competition.
Since taking office, I have had a number of opportunities to meet the board, the chairman and chief executive of Bord Fáilte to discuss a range of issues, including follow up to certain ADL recommendations. The board of Bord Fáilte recently endorsed a revised senior management structure for the organisation, introduced by its new chief executive, which, I understand, is intended to optimise the position and resources of the board so that it can best serve the needs of the industry in the years ahead.