Written Answers. - Foot and Mouth Disease.
Deirdre Clune
Ceist:
298
Ms Clune
asked the
Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation
the contingency plans he will put in place to ensure that the tourism industry is not damaged in the long term and a perception is not held abroad that Ireland has a foot and mouth disease problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[8840/01]
Seamus Kirk
Ceist:
299
Mr. Kirk
asked the
Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation
if he will consider a special promotional course development package for tourism in County Louth to help offset the negative effects of the foot and mouth disease control measures in the county; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[8986/01]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 298 and 299 together.
At a full day session of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Sport and Recreation on 22 March, 11 key industry groups and Bord Fáilte outlined in detail the difficulties currently being experienced by the tourism and hospitality industry and suggested a range of measures which could be taken to alleviate the impact of the current foot and mouth crisis on tourism. In my response, which is on the record of the proceedings of the joint committee, I addressed the key issues raised by the industry groups.
The special Government task force, of which I am a member, meets daily at present to monitor FMD developments and to review measures to prevent the spread of the disease. In addition, a separate high level tourism action group, chaired by the chief executive of Bord Fáilte, which includes key industry representatives and an official of my Department, has been established to monitor the situation on a continuous basis. The group is currently meeting twice weekly. The objective is to actively manage issues which are affecting tourism business and to help limit any medium to long-term damage to the industry's image and prospects.
The immediate objectives are to ensure (a) that a clear message is presented to international visitors that Ireland remains open for tourism business subject to appropriate precautions in line with the best expert veterinary advice; (b) that as many of our tourism attractions, including State cultural and heritage attractions, remain open on the basis of the best expert veterinary advice; (c) that Bord Fáilte tourism marketing programmes are fundamentally reappraised and refocused to minimise the potential downturn in overseas visitors numbers and revenue and to address, at the appropriate time, areas of particular need such as County Louth; and (d) that temporary cash flow difficulties experienced by individual tourism enterprises due to the current FMD crisis, again particularly in areas such as County Louth, are taken into account by financial institutions and State agencies as appropriate.
I can assure the Deputies that I, my Department and Bord Fáilte will continue to work as hard as we can to ensure that no unnecessary medium to long-term damage is done to the tourism industry which is so important in economic terms.
