Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 19 Oct 2016

Vol. 925 No. 2

National Tourism Development Authority (Amendment) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages

Bill received for final consideration.

Question proposed: "That the Bill do now pass."

Deputy Robert Troy

I want to say a few words about this small technical Bill, which we are happy to support, before it is passed by the House. As the Minister of State said during the good debate we had on Committee Stage, this legislation provides for a cumulative increase from €150 million to €300 million in the capital funding that can be provided to Fáilte Ireland. I would like to reiterate the importance to our economy of the tourism sector, which grew by 13% in 2015. More than 8 million tourists visited the country in that year. If we are to ensure we continue to attract tourists to this country, it is very important that we stay competitive, maintain a high quality of service and keep our prices reasonable.

In that regard, I want to take this opportunity to question the wisdom of the decision announced in budget 2017 to cut capital funding by 4%. It is incredible that such a regressive move is being made at a time when the tourism sector is facing serious challenges. I refer, for example, to the result of the Brexit referendum and the resultant devaluation of sterling. In 2015, some 41% of our overseas visitors came from Northern Ireland and the UK. I think this regressive step needs to be revisited. As I said when we considered this Bill on Committee Stage, there is no point in increasing the threshold if we are not going to exceed the amount of money we have invested in Fáilte Ireland over recent years. I asked a number of questions at that time and the Minister of State said he would revert to me on Committee Stage. I will repeat some of them today. Perhaps the Minister of State will come back to me with answers at a later stage.

I will repeat the questions I asked about a critical area. The establishment of a new lakelands brand is intended to complement, rather than detract from, the existing brands of Ireland's Ancient East and the Wild Atlantic Way. I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Corcoran Kennedy, is eagerly awaiting the establishment of the lakelands brand, just as I am as a representative of the constituency of Longford-Westmeath. It was a key commitment in the programme for Government that this would happen.

The most recent tender that was put out precluded areas like Longford, Westmeath, Offaly and Tipperary from being included in the lakelands brand because they are already included in Ireland's Ancient East. We had a good discussion on this matter on Committee Stage. I am not trying to trip the Minister of State up. I just want to know the current position regarding the establishment of the lakelands brand. Is that going to be done any time soon? Can we have confidence? Will the Minister of State confirm to the House that the middle corridor of this country, as he referred to the area from the tip of Donegal to the butt of Cork that is not covered by Ireland's Ancient East or the Wild Atlantic Way, will be included in this new brand?

This Bill increases the cap that applies to Fáilte Ireland so that additional funding can be allocated to it. The Minister of State referred on Committee Stage to the process of opening for new applications for large capital projects. That is to be welcomed. The Minister of State said during the same debate that decisions would be made at arm's length from the Minister.

Do we have any indication of when those decisions will be made? When can the groups that have made huge efforts to draw up comprehensive proposals expect to know what the decision is? Similarly, will the Minister of State tell us when we can expect applications to open under the smaller capital programme? We are delighted to support this technical Bill, which relates to a very important industry. We believe more needs to be done to support the industry because it is facing very challenging times, particularly in the context of Brexit, as I have mentioned. We are very reliant on visitors from the UK and Northern Ireland. I suppose that is something we can come back to at a later date.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

I remind the House that the debate on Final Stage is much more restricted than the debate on Second Stage. I am allowing Deputies to speak briefly.

Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (Deputy Patrick O'Donovan)

I welcome Deputy Troy's support for the Bill. Deputy O'Keeffe also expressed his support for it on Committee Stage.

Deputy Troy has repeated the request he made on Committee Stage for an update on the lakelands brand. This is one of the issues that were discussed when I met the chairperson of Fáilte Ireland recently. I will give the up-to-date position in this regard to Deputy Troy as soon as I get it. That is no problem. As I said on Committee Stage, we have some very good tourism brands in this country. The Wild Atlantic Way has been a phenomenal success. Ireland's Ancient East is a phenomenal success as well and I think it will be an even greater success into the future. There is a Dublin brand as well. I will not deviate from the point I made on Committee Stage, which is that I think local authorities can play a huge part in the response in these areas and brands, including in my own county. That is why the Department, at my instruction, recently asked that a subset of the County and City Management Association come together with a view to looking at how local authorities can assume the responsibility given to them under the local government Acts to ensure they exploit the capital investment that is allowable under Fáilte Ireland. I recently met the Westmeath county manager at an event along the banks of the Royal Canal.

Deputy Robert Troy

In Coolnahay.

Deputy Patrick O'Donovan

I was very impressed with the Westmeath county manager and the plan he has in place. I know they are called CEOs now, but I will always call them county managers. Many other county managers could learn a great deal from the manner in which the Westmeath county manager has taken to the job. I refer, for example, to the development of a greenway across his own county and into County Longford. I believe bodies like local authorities, Leader groups and Fáilte Ireland have a key role in this regard. I know Fáilte Ireland is looking at the whole concept of branding. As I have said since I went into the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, I believe the focus in the corridor from east Donegal, in the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's constituency, to the outskirts of Cork city should be driven by local authorities.

I met representatives of the banks recently to discuss the ongoing investments in the tourism industry. I have also engaged with the County and City Management Association and with Fáilte Ireland regarding the part of the country where I see an obvious challenge. I agree with what Deputy Troy is saying in this regard because it affects my own county. The overall budget for tourism has been increased by €1 million. I know that is a small amount of money in the overall scale of the budget, but I am happy to get my hands on every amount of money I can. There will be a capital review in 2017. It has been brought forward. Fáilte Ireland will be calling for applications for the smaller-scale projects in the near future. I will give Deputy Troy the exact date when I get it.

I would like to mention some of the other tourism development measures that were introduced or sustained in last week's budget. The retention of the 9% VAT rate is of great importance in County Limerick as much as it is in County Westmeath. I know hoteliers, restaurateurs, publicans and others were anxious to ensure it was retained. We have not deviated from our approach to the travel tax. These significant investments, which were introduced by the last Government, have been maintained.

I agree with what Deputy Troy has said about this country's exposure to Brexit. As I said at the committee, Brexit and competitiveness are the two biggest issues facing this country's tourism industry. Perhaps stability could also be mentioned as a third issue. We will face challenges as the Brexit issue evolves over time. Officials from Tourism Ireland have told me about their plans to instigate intensive marketing campaigns in Britain to ensure people there view not just this jurisdiction but the whole island of Ireland - as opposed to, say, Scotland - as a place to go on holiday. As sterling continues to devalue, the package that is available in Scotland will become much more competitive than it was before now.

The challenge for us is to continue to advertise the unique quality we have here in Ireland, North and South. We must do this internationally through Tourism Ireland and nationally through Fáilte Ireland. It is clear from our engagement in recent months with representatives of bodies like the Irish Hotels Federation and the Restaurants Association of Ireland, and with tourism industry leaders through Fáilte Ireland, not only that they are acutely aware of the challenges that exist, but also that they are up to the challenge. I recently attended the Flavours of Ireland event in London, which was organised by Tourism Ireland and was purely designed to ensure we engage with the industry. Those involved in the industry will openly say that the pipeline into Ireland is very strong.

However, the major concerns of people in the industry relate to competitiveness and Brexit - Deputy Troy is quite right in that regard. I have spoken to representatives of the Irish Hotel Federation to ensure we get good value for money for people coming here as well as for "staycationers", namely, people who holiday at home. They represent an important market as well.

The Bill is technical in nature. It allows the Fáilte Ireland spending ceiling to rise, as Deputy Troy said. It also gives us an opportunity to discuss the tourism industry on Committee and Second Stages. However, the importance of the Bill lies not so much in the ceiling that will be raised when the Bill is eventually passed but rather to ensure appropriate capital funding for Fáilte Ireland for now and in the time to come. The authority is in the process of announcing major projects which will hopefully be vetted and allocated in the near future.

It is not simply about that alone. It is also about ensuring that the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the Government and the Oireachtas in general see tourism as an industry that has helped drag the country out of the mire. The policy document, People, Place and Policy, estimates that by 2025 over 250,000 people will be employed in the tourism and hospitality sectors. That figure is accepted by all parties in the House and I am of the view that it can be exceeded far sooner. It will be exceeded far sooner if we do the small things properly and get the basics right. That is why I agree with Deputy Troy.

I will get back to Deputy Troy before the end of the week on the exact timing involved and where we stand in respect of the specific issue on branding. I will also notify him of the date when the capital programme will be announced. As the Deputy quite rightly stated, it is not a decision for the Department because the process is at arm's length from the Department.

I am keen to make one point on branding. It is important that we work in an organised way, regardless of what we come up with for any given part of the country. I have a strongly held view on this matter and I believe local authorities are the key. Deputy Troy's part of the country has a great deal to offer. In fact, it is unique in terms of its offering. Local authorities have a role to play and that is why I have asked them to begin the process of developing, for 2017, county tourism strategies that will be reflective of the product in their counties. It cannot be all about the Department, Fáilte Ireland or the Oireachtas. City and county managers have a responsibility under the Local Government Act and they have to live up to it. I expect them to do so. I will challenge them in 2017 by asking every local authority to bring forward a tourism strategy for approval by the Department. If I believe a tourism strategy is sent to me as part of a box-ticking exercise, it will not be accepted by the Department. That strategy will be sent back and those responsible will be asked to do it again. I know this will not be the case in Deputy Troy's county of Westmeath, particularly in view of who is manager there.

Question put and agreed to.