I welcome the Minister to the House. I think it is his first time here as Minister and I wish him every good luck in his office.
Tourist Traffic Bill, 1995: Second Stage.
Question proposed: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
An Leas-Chathaoirleach
Thank you, a Leas-Chathaoirligh. It is a pleasure to be here to deal with this Bill today.
As set out in the explanatory memorandum which has already been circulated, the purpose of the Tourist Traffic Bill, 1995, is to enable Bord Fáilte Éireann to delegate to a contractor certain of its tourist accommodation inspection and associated functions and powers under the Tourism Traffic Acts, 1939-87, and the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1988. The functions and powers in question relate to the registration and grading of a range of tourist accommodation and the licensing of restaurants. The Bill provides also for an increase from £18 million to £22 million in the statutory cumulative limit for grants by Bord Fáilte for tourism capital development works.
At the outset, I would like to briefly outline the background to this Bill. In the context of reviewing the effectiveness of existing arrangements to promote Ireland as a tourist destination, Arthur D. Little Limited, London, were commissioned as consultants by my predecessor in 1994 to carry out a fundamental review of Bord Fáilte. The conclusion and recommendations contained in their final report — copies of which have been provided to the Seanad Library — were accepted by the Government in November 1994. When I took up office at the Department of Tourism and Trade in December last, I reviewed the position and decided to press ahead with the implementation of the findings in the review.
It is important to recall that the consultants recognised that Bord Fáilte had done a good job for Irish tourism over the years. However, times change and there was a need for change in Bord Fáilte as well. Because of its unstructured and organic growth over the years, BFE had developed into a multifunctional body and was undertaking more activities than were desirable. In addition to marketing and promotion, it had become involved in the registration and regulation of a very wide range of tourist accommodation and services, it was making decisions on EU grant applications, it was publishing a wide range of brochures, it was running the Tidy Towns competition and was carrying out various other functions and activities. Although important in their own right, those other activities were not necessarily supportive of the overseas marketing and promotion function which should be at the heart of Bord Fáilte's role. In reality, they almost led to a significant diminution in the level of dedicated and focused team effort that should characterise a dynamic international marketing organisation.
Moreover, it is clear that the Irish tourist industry has grown and matured in recent years and is now willing and able to take on more responsibility for its own future development. It is accordingly less in need of the intensive hand-holding and paternal direction which characterised the role of Bord Fáilte in earlier times.
The consultants concluded — quite rightly in my view — that Bord Fáilte, in future, should concentrate on its core activities of selling Ireland as a tourist destination overseas, helping the less mature elements of the industry to develop and providing market intelligence to industry decision makers. The review envisaged Bord Fáilte strengthening its marketing capabilities and, with a view to filling skill gaps, introducing new blood with industry experience. As an essential part of the change process, BFE would transfer or cease some of its existing activities and its overall staff complement would be reduced by about 70.
The ADL review was well received by the Irish tourist industry, in political circles and by the media and this convinced me that it had general acceptance and should be energetically implemented. In the Dáil, I paid due tribute to my predecessor, Deputy McCreevy, who was instrumental in commissioning the review. While I did not agree with his, at times, confrontational style vis-a-vis Bord Fáilte, I believe he had at heart the interest of the continued and successful development of the tourism sector.
Much progress has been made since the beginning of the year in implementing the ADL review. A high level implementation committee is overseeing the change process and has met on 11 occasions. We are now seeing clear evidence of the much desired internal organisational and cultural changes in the board. A new mission statement and organisational structure has been put in place together with related senior staff changes.
A new dynamic international marketing director with an impressive track record in private industry has been appointed. An attractive voluntary severance package has been available to staff and will now enable the organisation to be revitalised and reinvigorated through staff movement and some recruitment of new blood. The new Bord Fáilte will be progressively launched over the summer months and will see an exciting rebirth of the organisation and a new era in the marketing of Ireland overseas as a first class holiday destination.
As regards existing Bord Fáilte functions to be divested, the tendering procedure for the registration and grading has now been completed. Subject to enactment of this Bill, I would hope that the new arrangements of which I will speak later could be put in place by September. In conjunction with the tendering process my Department has also completed a consultative round with the key groups of accommodation providers affected by the proposed changes to ensure they understand fully what is being done and to note their concerns.
I wish to announce today that I have agreed to accept the recommendation of the implementation steering committee to appoint Tourism Quality Services Limited as the registration and grading contractor. Subject to the enactment of this Bill, Bord Fáilte will enter into the necessary detailed contractual discussions with TQS.
The selection of Tourism Quality Services Limited was made after an open and publicly advertised tendering procedure conducted in accordance with EU rules. TQS was considered the optimal choice in view of its experience in conducting similar functions successfully for the Wales Tourist Board for the past five years and for its strong and dependable commercial and operational management. TQS intends to establish a subsidiary in Dublin to manage and operate the function and will employ locally recruited staff with the necessary qualifications and experience.
The company is most anxious to work in close consultation and co-operation with the Irish accommodation sector and will be putting in place an appropriate programme to establish the fullest credibility with the industry. The need for such consultation and co-operation was highlighted during the debate in the Dáil and, of course, I fully accept the point.
On the product approvals, or the nonregistered tourist accommodation and services side, a number of the key associations, for example, in the bed and breakfast sector, have now taken up the challenge of accepting a greater level of responsibility for enforcing their own standards. A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of hosting a reception to announce the formal recognition of the Town and Country Homes Association and the Irish Farm Holidays Association as approving bodies for the Irish homes sector and the awarding of the shamrock symbol. I do not rule out the recognition of further associations subject to acceptable standards being met.
The tenders for Bord Fáilte's and Shannon Development Company's European Regional Development Fund product development grant assessment and administration role have been received and have now been appraised to determine if costs and other considerations justify this function being contracted out.
I wish to formally announce today that I have decided that this function should be retained by Bord Fáilte and by the Shannon Development Company in the mid-west region. I have taken this decision on the advice of the implementation steering committee for the following reasons: transfer of the function to a contractor would lead to a significant increase in costs which would have to be borne by grant applicants, the Exchequer or the technical assistance provision under the EU operational programme for tourism, or a combination of these; the concerns regarding potential conflicts between the different roles exercised by Bord Fáilte in carrying out the function, which gave rise to the initial recommendation by A D Little that it be outsourced, have been greatly ameliorated by the appointment of independent management boards to make grant decisions; and the management boards in the Bord Fáilte and Shannon areas, who are the users of the assessment and administration service, are very satisfied with the current service from the agencies in question and do not wish to have any change in the current arrangements.
Senators will be aware the Tidy Towns competition has been transferred to the Department of the Environment and the "Discover Ireland" brochure series has been put out to private tender. The Gulliver computerised information and reservation system is being fundamentally reassessed to see if it can be satisfactorily reconfigured in the context of an external commercial arrangement.
All in all, this is a series of dramatic changes which I honestly believe represents a new and exciting chapter in the history of Bord Fáilte. I know that the chairman, the board, the director general, management, staff and unions, after some understandable initial reluctance, are taking up the challenge with enthusiasm and I am grateful for their support. Much care has been taken to ensure a full and comprehensive dialogue with the unions and staff in view of the sensitivities involved. No compulsory redundancies are involved. I would also like to acknowledge the support and patience of the industry in regard to the changes being put in place. Change is always unsettling and demands adaptability, intelligence and understanding to accommodate it.
The Bill we have before us today does not constitute a major overhaul of the Tourist Traffic Acts which govern the operations of Bord Fáilte and the registration, grading and approval of tourist accommodation. My objective has been to implement the ADL review with the minimum of legislative change and disruption to the industry. Ideally, I would have liked to bring forward a consolidation Bill but that is something for a later time and is further down the road.
As I said earlier, one of the major changes recommended by the consultants was the subcontracting by Bord Fáilte to a commercial third party of certain inspection and associated functions in relation to the registration and grading of tourist accommodation. As these are statutory powers and functions at present vested in Bord Fáilte, amending legislation is necessary to allow the board to delegate them to a third party. Under the current tourist traffic legislation, the following categories of establishment require mandatory registration with Bord Fáilte: hotels, guesthouses, holiday hostels, youth hostels, holiday camps, caravan and camping sites, holiday cottages and holiday apartment group schemes. The standards to be applied, together with the relevant fees payable, in the case of each of the categories are provided for in regulations made under the Acts by the board, with my consent. Classification — or grading, as it is more commonly referred to — is not mandatory but is provided for under the current legislation and applies to hotels, guesthouses, caravan and camping sites and holiday cottages and apartments.
The Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1988, provides that in order to obtain a special restaurant licence the proprietor must present a Bord Fáilte certificate. The Act empowers Bord Fáilte to inspect restaurants for the purpose of issuing such a certificate. The inspection criteria to be applied and the fee payable are laid down in regulations made under the Act by the Minister for Tourism and Trade with the consent of the Minister for Justice. Indeed, it is my intention to review the criteria for certified restaurants, and other categories of accommodation at a later date, to see if they can be simplified somewhat while maintaining appropriately high standards.
The Tourist Traffic Bill, 1995, will enable the board to delegate to a contractor the bulk of its inspection and associated functions in relation to registration and grading of tourist accommodation and in relation to special restaurant licences. Under the new arrangements, the board will continue to retain ownership of the registration and grading standards, which means it will continue to set the criteria for registration and grading and to prescribe the various fees involved by regulation made under the provisions of the Tourist Traffic Acts, with my consent. Bord Fáilte will also continue to retain responsibility for the operation of the final stages of the appeals mechanism provided for under the Acts, when applications for registration and renewal of registration are refused and in the case of cancellation of registration. It will also be involved in the final stages of the appeals mechanism for grading of accommodation. As there was some confusion during the debate in the Dáil on this point, I want to emphasise that there will be no change in the existing legal provisions and procedures for appeal other than provision for the contractor, rather than Bord Fáilte, to carry out the earlier stages of the appeals process. Bord Fáilte will have a role also in monitoring the performance of the contractor and in the selection process. All other aspects of the inspection process will in future be undertaken by the third party contractor.
The key roles being retained by Bord Fáilte in the registration, grading and certification process will be critical in ensuring that the board maintains tight control on the standards and procedures to be used while relieving it of the more routine physical inspection procedures. I am acutely conscious of the importance of maintaining high quality standards for tourist accommodation and there is absolutely no reason to believe that the changes which are envisaged under this Bill will in any way adversely affect the current situation.
In selecting the external contractor to undertake the functions to be outsourced, we were assessing tenders against a set of key criteria which included capability and experience to undertake the role; cost efficiency within the existing fee structures; financial offers to Bord Fáilte for the right to provide the service and collect associated fees; transparency and objectivity in the activities to be undertaken and accountability. The contract will be awarded for five years, subject to a yearly review clause. Bord Fáilte will also have the right to cancel the contract in the event of unacceptable performance.
The Bill is quite short and comprises ten sections and a Schedule. The explanatory memorandum circulated with the Bill explains the proposed changes in detail. Section 2 allows Bord Fáilte to delegate a third party, subject to contract, certain of its inspection powers and functions as set out in the Schedule. Section 3 allows the board to make regulations governing the terms and conditions of any such contract. Section 4 provides for termination of a contract where this is deemed appropriate. Section 5 allows employees of the contractor to be designated as registration officers — or inspectors — subject to appropriate controls. Sections 6 to 8 deal with certain legal consequences in relation to the holding of the accommodation registers and opinions of the board. Section 9 provides for an increase from £18 million to £22 million in the statutory limit for grants by Bord Fáilte for tourism capital development works. In recent years this expenditure has been used primarily to assist in the co-financing of tourism capital development projects, such as tourist information offices and amenity signposting. I will be happy to deal on Committee Stage with any specific questions Senators might have.
With your permission, a Leas-Chathaoirligh, I would like to give the House a brief update on developments in the tourism sector generally in the context of the present Bill. The economic importance of tourism has grown enormously in recent years. Earlier this month I launched a major consultancy study on the economic impact of tourism in Ireland by Tansey, Webster and Associates, under the auspices, of the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation. Some of the findings were extremely interesting. For example, for the first time in 1994 the number of overseas visitors coming to Ireland, at 3.68 million, exceeded the size of the domestic population; tourism's contribution to gross national product has risen from 4.8 per cent in 1986 to close to 7 per cent in 1993; and tourism supports employment for over 90,000 at present and is closing the gap on primary agriculture as a source of jobs in Ireland.
Tourism has been one of the major growth sectors in the Irish economy with continued potential for further development and job creation. It is labour intensive, has a negligible import content and a strong regional development dimension. I believe we can achieve continued growth while at the same time protecting our environment by careful management and a wider seasonal spread of tourist numbers.
Nineteen ninety four was a good year for Irish tourism and continues a pattern of uninterrupted growth in revenue and visitor numbers since the late 1980s. Recently released CSO figures show that the number of overseas tourists is estimated to have increased by over 10 per cent in 1994. Revenue spent by overseas visitors increased by 10 per cent also to £1.5 billion. Much of the 1994 growth was attributable to especially improved performances in the American and British markets. I am optimistic that 1995 will be an excellent year as well. Figures released by the CSO recently show that the number of overseas visitors to Ireland in the period January to March represented an increase of nearly 17 per cent on the same period last year.
In order to achieve the ambitious medium-term growth targets which are included in the EU Operational Programme for Tourism, 1994-99, we have set specific targets for each of our principal markets in 1995. The new structures and initiatives which we are putting in place within Bord Fáilte, in our international marketing effort, in this year's Finance Act and through EU development grants will provide an added boost for achieving our goals in 1995. The ongoing peace in Northern Ireland is of tremendous benefit as well, I will touch on this later.
Turning to the international marketing of Ireland, I have allocated £4 million to the OTMI — the Overseas Tourism Marketing Initiative — in 1995. When complementary finance from the tourism industry, North and South, is included, the total budget for this campaign this year amounts to £6.3 million. The OTMI represents the continuation of a consumer marketing partnership between Government and the private sector which was pioneered in last year's US marketing initiative. That campaign was extremely successful and Central Statistics Office estimates show that an overall increase of some 17 per cent in North American visitors was achieved by Ireland last year compared to an average 8 per cent growth by our European competitors.
This year's OTMI campaign is aimed at increasing tourist numbers and revenue from four of our most important markets — the US, Britain, Germany and France. An exciting new dimension is the involvement of the Northern Ireland tourism industry. For the first time ever, all the tourism interests on the island have come together in a large scale programme to market Ireland as a single destination — one of the increasing number of marketing co-operation initiatives being pursued on a joint North-South basis.
The OTMI strategy again consists primarily of generic "Visit Ireland" advertising on television and in newspapers and magazines. Inquirers in each market receive a custom produced brochure which features the product of the participating companies and organisations, together with the Bord Fáilte and Northern Ireland Tourism Board literature. As Senators are aware, the peace process has added greatly to the ability to market Ireland internationally as a destination of high quality for tourism and we all support this. It is ironic that I am here discussing the boost in tourism numbers particularly in relation to Northern Ireland on the basis of the peace process when the Seanad only yesterday lost a dear and valued friend in the late Senator Gordon Wilson. Go ndéana Dia trócaire air.
Work on the development of an international brand for Irish tourism was initiated in 1994 through the Tourism Council. This is a very exciting project and is part of a total comprehensive relook at Ireland, the brand and its communication. It has the potential to bring a new dynamism to our international marketing effort in co-operation with the industry. Consultants were appointed to develop the visioning process of the brand development and have reported their findings. Bord Fáilte's new international marketing director is now leading an industry partnership group to take the process forward with the objective of relaunching the Ireland brand progressively in 1996.
The EU Operational Programme for Tourism, 1994-99, under which investment of £650 million is envisaged with associated grants of £370 million, is now in place for six months. I am glad to report that interest in the programme is very intense and over 1,000 applications for grant assistance have been received. The management boards, which decide on individual grant applications under the programme — to which I referred earlier — have already established an excellent record for independent and rigorous appraisal of projects.
Under the product development subprogramme of the operational programme, more than 50 of the 250 applications received have been decided to date. The approvals cover a wide range of tourism product, including visitor information, visitor centres, leisure and conference centres, tourism angling, cruising, walking and adventure sports. One of the major flagship projects in this subprogramme is the establishment of a national conference centre. I intend to bring this matter before the Government soon in order to obtain clear support to proceed with the development of the centre at an early date.
The marketing subprogramme of the operational programme is well under way also with decisions made on some 100 of the 400 or so applications received to date. The most significant initiative undertaken in 1994 has been the OTMI campaign to which I referred earlier. Almost 8,000 people completed training in 1994 on over 600 ESF sponsored training courses under the training subprogramme of the operational programme. Of the 1,380 unemployed persons receiving certification, almost 1,000, or 72 per cent, gained full-time employment with the balance obtaining part-time work or progressing to further education-training or to sheltered employment.
I am satisfied with overall progress under the tourism operational programme. I am conscious of the need to ensure that EU funds are spent wisely with a view to putting in place the industry infrastructure which will carry us well into the next century. This year's budget and Finance Act will help to strengthen the Irish tourism industry through a variety of both general and specific measures.
I am very pleased that the pilot renewal scheme for traditional resort areas was included and I am confident that this measure will have a revitalising effect on the specific towns and areas to be covered. The scheme is based on the successful urban renewal scheme and it incorporates many of the features of that scheme, notably accelerated capital allowances, double rent allowances and rented residential accommodation relief. As the House is aware, the details are set out in the Finance Act and the scheme will now be promoted by my Department and the tourism support agencies. Ultimately, the success of the scheme will depend upon the commitment and energy of the investors and entrepreneurs who come forward with development projects.
The tourism industry will also benefit greatly from a number of general taxation provisions under the Finance Act, 1995, such as PRSI reliefs and reduction in corporation profits tax.
As I said earlier, the peace process in Northern Ireland has enormous potential for the further development of tourism on the island and has already resulted in a redefinition of our policies and strategies. I referred earlier to the £6.3 million Overseas Tourism Marketing Initiative which for the first time ever brought the public and private sectors in Ireland and Northern Ireland together. This is a unique partnership which is selling tourism on the island of Ireland in our major markets abroad.
I have met my Northern Ireland counterpart. Baroness Denton of Wakefield, on numerous occasions in recent months and we have announced a range of cross-Border regional marketing initiatives as well as participating jointly in numerous events, most recently at the White House Conference on Trade and Investment in Ireland. In Washington we were joined by the chief executives of our two tourist boards, who made an effective joint presentation to US business on the investment needs of the industry on the island. Senators will also be aware that Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown, myself, as Minister for Tourism and Trade and Baroness Denton, on behalf of the American, Irish and British Governments respectively, signed a communiqué at that conference.
The International Fund for Ireland, the new INTERREG programme and the forthcoming special support programme for peace and reconciliation are all creating new opportunities for North/South contact at governmental, tourist board, community and business levels.
It is clear from what I have said that these are exciting times for Irish tourism. The industry has developed substantially in recent years and high levels of investment are being made to improve our product. We have always had a reputation as a country of great natural beauty where, despite recent isolated crimes against tourists, a warm welcome is guaranteed. These attributes have now been enhanced through a major improvement in tourist accommodation and visitor attractions together with a growing level of maturity and professionalism on the part of our industry.
Therefore, the Tourist Traffic Bill, 1995, is a reflection of the changes taking place in Irish tourism. It will play its part in helping to reposition Bord Fáilte among the best of national tourist organisations, making its unique contribution to the continued growth and development of tourism in Ireland.
Thank, you, a Leas-Chathaoirligh, for the opportunity to make these remarks on the Bill and I look forward to the debate.
I welcome the Minister to the House. I appreciate the fact that the Minister is taking the debate on this Bill. Tourism is one of our greatest areas for job creation and if the Minister was to ask a Minister of State to sit in on this debate, it would indicate to me, however eloquent that Minster of State would be, that this Bill was being taken less than seriously. I am pleased that the Minister is prepared to take the Bill through the House.
I would find it hard to accept the Minister's last remarks about Bord Fáilte being, or ever becoming, with its present structure, one of the major national promotion agencies. For many years I have looked on Bord Fáilte as an old and out of date institution, heavily laden with personnel, pensions and an out of date structure. I come from a county that has the potential to develop tourism. Far be it for me to give the Minister a lesson on the value of tourism to the west of Ireland. I would not contest or dispute the fact that the Minister knows about the value of tourism.
Looking at the island of Ireland, North and South, the Minister is aware that tourism is the one area with the prospect of providing jobs for our young people. For many years my county has clearly demonstrated its interest. A hotel training college was established in Killybegs to accommodate up to 600 young students. If I knew nothing about the value of tourism, that regional college in Killybegs would quickly provide me with the picture. The 600 students trained there are booked in advance to the hotel industry on an allocation basis and this gives an indication of the demand for trained personnel.
Every Minister, including the current Minister's predecessor, Deputy McCreevy, went along with the system, tinkering, improving and altering something that nobody in the country believes in. I am not jumping on a political bandwagon and I hope to be constructive. Small potential developers in the tourist business in counties like Mayo and Donegal, or anywhere else in the west of Ireland, may have plans, for example, to add ten bedrooms for a self-catering tourist project, but can the Minister say where such people can get application forms that do not give them the run-around? They hire an accountant and make a submission, including plans, at a cost of £4,000 to £10,000 before receiving anything.
Bord Fáilte has neither the capacity nor the funding. It has a heavy personnel structure involving inspections and examinations but providing nothing at the end of the line. The bottom line is that no structures are in place.
I am pleased that the Minister has increased the provision for accommodation from £18 million to £22 million, but everybody knows that out of that provision will have to come overheads and ongoing pensions for 50 years. Bord Fáilte is a big, heavy vehicle that is out of date, geared to an industry where you came in with a tea trolley and the morning newspaper.
I made the same point to the Minister's predecessor when he launched the programme up in Monaghan. I differed totally with him then, because while it is all very well to recognise the value of Bord Fáilte, which is a great flag to wave, the industry finds it impossible to get any benefit from it. The Minister must know this better than anyone else because he has a great county, yet the people he represents cannot participate in any kind of development. That is my argument.
Many years ago a seminar was organised in Roscommon arising from concerns expressed by the late P.V. Doyle. The Evening Press headline at the time ran: “P.V. Doyle sheds 200 workers”. About 4,000 jobs had been shed in the west of Ireland, but no newspaper headlines reflected that fact. These job losses were due largely to the troubles in the North, because of which English and Scottish visitors, and many from other parts of the world, were reluctant to visit the Border counties. We lost our tourist industry because of that.
The Minister should have the courage to take the initiative in restructuring Bord Fáilte. He should clean out the company's structures at Baggot Street Bridge which are costing the taxpayer a massive amount of money. It is like sending a 40-ton vehicle to deliver a 2 lb. package; it is not on and nobody believes in it. Firing money after them is money down the drain because they will deliver nothing.
The current arrangement whereby the International Fund for Ireland is administered by Bord Fáilte is throwing money into a black hole, and I can prove it beyond doubt. The International Fund for Ireland is given substantial money, thanks to the American people, the American President and the American Government. They recognised that the tourist industry in Ireland should be developed, but they chose the wrong vehicle.
I ask the Minister why the Government is not providing funding for regional tourism structures. Regional tourism has been in place for many years but with no funding other than to pay the wages. There is a regional tourism office in Sligo with an excellent director, Dan O'Neill. There is a suboffice in Letterkenny and an excellent person, Denis Doyle, but there is no money. There is enough to attend festivals and appear on platforms, but not a pound to give to a single project. It is laughable.
No country in the world would run such a system unless they were out of touch. One might think it would exist in the Soviet Union, where they do not have the structures, proper Government or any real administration in parts of the country. In a small country like Ireland with 3 million to 3.5 million people, it is unbelievable that we set up and continue to support and pay for structures for regional tourism and yet give them no function. I do not understand. Does the Minister not trust them? The people who give the Government or Bord Fáilte funding have to trust the Government and the people in it. If it is worth keeping regional tourism in place, it should be given funding and allowed do its job.
We listen to much talk — the Minister must have heard it himself, coming from the west — about bottom up approaches, community involvement and western development. They are all clichés, slogans and pious platitudes. There are regional tourism organisations in the country with potential, knowledge and personnel, but the Minister is not giving them a pound of funding other than to pay their wages and the light. I do not understand it; I am mystified. There is no funding for regional tourism, the Border region, the county enterprise boards, western development, Leader and cross Border organisations. The National Roads Authority has no funding for the west of Ireland and County Donegal. The national development plan totally excluded the west of Ireland and the Border counties.
The IFI and Bord Fáilte have pooled their funding, and that in my book is enough to pay for the continuation of Bord Fáilte, which is a totally ineffective organisation. I am anxious for the opportunity to put this on the record of the House. I am not on a political bandwagon. I said the exact same thing to Deputy McCreevy. I am sorry to say it did not get through and I wasted my breath. The Minister is like a passenger on a bus; he is going with the system.
I look at some of the structures and the eight subregions in the country. I would like to direct the Minister's attention to a photograph which I will give to him. That subregion covers Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan and Louth and it is about 150 miles around that circuit from Moville to County Louth. That structure is not manageable at all and the Minister knows it. County Louth and County Dublin are beside each other. The people who decided on those divisions were people in an office in Dublin who had never travelled the region. Even if the Minister was to provide money for regional development, those divisions are unmanageable, but they are not cut in stone. I ask the Minister to change the structures and to give some funding to regional organisations which promote tourism. If he does that he will be recognised as a Minister who knows what he is about, whose intentions are clearly to promote and support the development of tourism. The fact that no other industry can compete with the tourism industry in terms of potential for job creation cannot be disputed.
We have nearly 30 overseas offices promoting tourism, all of them of a very high standard. That is a sheer waste of money. When the former Taoiseach opened Ireland House in New York, it brought together five major organisations, including CTT, Bord Fáilte and the IDA. I thought then that we had recognised how to put our business on a proper footing. Ireland House was the first such office. The present Taoiseach has since opened one in Tokyo. Whether or not I am eloquent in presenting my case, I have no speech written out——
The Senator is very eloquent.
I thank the Minister. I know that I am sincere and that those who expect the tourism industry to help them support what I say. If I do not make a good enough case then I accept that I am less than adequate. I have a gut feeling that the Minister will not be successful. I say that not because of any lack of confidence in him, but because he has to fight the system and he does not have sufficient funding to support the tourist industry and to undertake the major overhaul that is so necessary and so long overdue. The Minister who takes his courage in his hands and restructures the administrative section in the tourism industry will do the tourism industry a favour.
I have examined the industry in my own county. Some of my very good friends, like the McEniffs, have done a tremendous job, but only about five or six big players benefit. Even the soft loans or the interest free funding that was made available to ICC meant that only those who were clients of a certain accountant were in the front line. The ordinary people have never benefited from any of that funding because the small player is not considered. The operator must be large enough to convince Stokes Kennedy Crowley or have somebody who has handled his business previously who can present his case. If the operator is not in that league he is not going anywhere.
Every aspect of the structure supporting tourism must be dismantled. The Minister's speech was interesting. I am particularly pleased that the Minister has decided not to farm out certain tasks. I hope that legislation permitting the Minister to select an outside body to carry out examinations is never passed. I will strongly oppose such legislation if it is introduced in this House. Although the group that was mentioned had a Donegal base, I will strongly oppose any private structure carrying out assessments on standards of accommodation. There are personnel and structures within the Department and there is no necessity for the Minister to farm out the assessment responsibility to private individuals. That course of action would be fraught with danger and would not be accepted.
I ask the Minister to examine all the agencies supporting the tourist industry. I received a paper two weeks ago called "European Community Action Plan to assist Tourism, 1995". There is one cover sheet for proposals. This is confusing. It indicates that the EU will give direct support for the tourism industry. I have another letter that was received by a man who has a major restaurant at the entrance to County Donegal. Incidentally, I welcome the benefits of the peace process for normal trade and traffic. The man was offered some funding for his car park. The International Fund for Ireland wrote: "I am writing to inform you that the International Fund for Ireland has decided in principle to assist by up to £9,450 in respect of proposed external environmental improvement works on your car park adjoining your restaurant." However, the restaurant was converted from an old building and it has a tin roof. Nobody will give him one penny to carry out work on the roof. Nobody will give him an application form to improve his restaurant. That proves the point that we are badly organised.
I could stand here until 9 a.m. tomorrow morning and plead with the Minister to put structures in place that will help the small individual operator and that will create jobs in a business that does not depend on the stock exchanges of London, Tokyo or anywhere else. We have the potential to create jobs in this industry. It is up to the Minister and others to get our act together. I appeal to the Minister not to tinker superficially by spending an extra couple of million pounds here and there and accepting compliments for doing so. He should not leave the regional tourism boards in a position where they must shrug their shoulders and say they are unable to help because they have no funding.
I have plenty of information on this issue but I ask the Minister to do two things. First, he must concentrate on foreign selling through the one stop shop as much as possible. Second, he must look at the possibility of reorganising an unworkable regional tourism pattern and restructure Bord Fáilte. The day the Minister does that he will regain the confidence of those who are prepared to join him in developing the country's tourist industry.
I welcome the Minister on his first visit to the House. I welcome him for a number of reasons. First, I welcome him because of the subject we are discussing today. The Minister is from the western seaboard, like myself and Senator McGowan. He recognises the importance of the industry to that region. One of his first actions on assuming the office of Minister was to put in place the pilot renewal scheme for traditional seaside resorts. He indicated from the beginning his understanding of the needs of the industry and its importance to the economy of the country, particularly to the economy of the western region.
I wish to comment on Senator McGowan's contribution. It might seem strange, but I do not disagree to a great extent with Senator McGowan. He has given an indication of the frustration felt by many people involved in the industry. He has called, among other things, for the replacement of Bord Fáilte. He has called for the establishment of new structures. Frankly, an argument can be made for both. However, I do not agree with him on that point today. The timespan he mentioned is a little too short. Nevertheless, the issues he raised and the proposals he made are matters that may well have to be faced within the lifetime of the present Government.
Before we try taking the drastic steps proposed by Senator McGowan we should, as the Minister said, establish a new Bord Fáilte with a new directive to concentrate on its core function of marketing and promotion. Its work over the next year should be performance tested. In addition, a new element should be included — and if there is one weakness in the Bill it is that this element is missing — to provide for accountability by Bord Fáilte to the industry itself. That accountability is not there and has not been there. Senator McGowan spoke about Bord Fáilte being contented and too long on the job. I agree with him to a certain extent. Indeed, I would go further. In dealing with Bord Fáilte I have encountered an unacceptable level of smugness in many people at the top of that organisation. It is time that was removed.
The Minister has indicated that he intends to introduce more widespread and structured legislation on tourism. There must be proper accountability, not only to the Department and the Cabinet but also to the industry, which is so dependent on promotion and marketing. There is no such accountability at present, nor has there been. Indeed, in view of the attitude I have found within the organisation, there is no intention of providing it unless it is compelled to do so.
In his speech the Minister stated: "...it is clear that the Irish tourism industry has grown up and matured in recent years and that it is now willing and able to take on more responsibility for its own development." We are rapidly approaching the point where the industry itself should be given the responsibility and the funding to carry out its own promotion and marketing. There are people in the industry doing a successful job who make criticisms of SFADCo which are similar to those I have made of Bord Fáilte. They tell me that such organisations are only in the way and that they would do the job several times better if they were provided with their funding. It is an argument which must be considered. I accept the Minister's argument that the industry has matured and I suggest that it has matured almost to the point where it is in a position to take on this responsibility very successfully. The vast sums being sucked in by organisations such as Bord Fáilte and SFADCo for the promotion of tourism should be looked at to see if better value can be obtained under a different system.
The Minister said the purpose of the Bill is to contract out certain functions from Bord Fáilte to enable it to concentrate on its core activity, which is the marketing and promotion of the industry. There is no doubt that Bord Fáilte has done valuable work in the past, certainly in its early days, and has contributed to the existing very good range of products in the industry. There is a widespread range of accommodation available from the top of the market to the very modest. While the product and accommodation will always continue to improve to meet the demands of competition, we are seriously lacking in the area of the promotion and marketing of the product.
Senator McGowan mentioned that there are a number of organisations involved in promotion, some of them with few or no resources; in my own region there are Bord Fáilte and SFADCo. With regard to the promotion of tourism, I ask the Minister to spell out the precise relationship between Bord Fáilte and SFADCo. Where are the demarcation lines? Where do they complement one another? Where do they overlap, if at all? In addition, there is Aer Lingus, which is involved in tourism promotion in the USA, and the regional tourism organisations. There is also an input from Leader and the county enterprise boards on various other aspects of the product. Given this multiplicity of organisations involved in the industry, there is much to be said for Senator McGowan's argument for a one stop shop. Many people have made substantial private investments and have taken substantial risks with regard to the provision of facilities and accommodation. They are frustrated at what they perceive to be a failure or a sloppy performance by the organisations charged with the marketing and promotion of the product.
There is an emerging pattern of an imbalance in tourism growth with regard to the regions. The most recent figures illustrate that there is a growth in tourism in the Dublin region in excess of 30 per cent. The increase in the south-eastern region is 18 per cent while it is 1 per cent in the south-west and the mid-west. There has been a slight growth in the other regions which have benefited from the peace process.
By and large, the growth in tourism in recent times has taken place along the eastern seaboard. We have lost potential tourism from along the western seaboard to the east coast. A number of factors have contributed to this. In the first instance, the figures prove that the decision by the USA air carriers to fly directly to Dublin has worked to the disadvantage of the mid-west, the western seaboard in general and the south-west. The fears expressed prior to the decision made in 1993 to allow for direct flights to Dublin have, therefore, been confirmed. Second, given the fare structure of Aer Lingus, it is four times more expensive to fly from London to Shannon than from London to Dublin. In view of this, a substantial number of tourists from the USA now avail of low cost flights to London, then fly London to Dublin and stay along the east coast. There is a need, therefore, to examine the attitude by Aer Lingus to its flight costs from London and other parts of the UK to Shannon and to airports along the west coast.
I do not begrudge the increased tourism that has come to Dublin and the east coast but we should recognise that this has arisen because of a number of factors, some of which I have mentioned, and that there is, therefore, a need to ensure that there is a corresponding growth and development along the more deprived regions of the west. I ask the Minister to consider how this serious imbalance can be adjusted. I do not suggest that it be addressed by shifting those visiting the east coast to the west, rather that more people be encouraged to visit the west and expand the industry by so doing.
I have asked the Minister to indicate to me, within a reasonable time, the precise role of SFADCo in the promotion of tourism. In the annual report of the company, the chief executive outlines the position of marketing the tourism product and promoting the Shannon region under four or five different headings. No breakdown of how this is done or the cost is provided in the balance sheet of the annual report. It is covered under one heading — Industrial and Tourism Promotion. The amount stated under this heading is £7.434 million. It does not say how much goes to tourism and how much goes to industry. Therefore, in fairness to the tourism industry in the mid-west, I would like the precise role, the amount spent and the value obtained to be stated.
I recently attended a meeting of the Clare Tourism Council with other Members of the Oireachtas. We were told, in no uncertain terms, that the indications within the past two weeks are that they are having a disastrous tourism season and the bookings situation is frightening. Representatives of Shannon Development were present at that meeting. Their response to a particular query in relation to marketing was that it is not their function. It is a function for Shannon Marketing. We now have a new quango on the scene with which few of us are familiar. Not alone are we unfamiliar with the precise function in relation to the recent promotion of Shannon Marketing but there is an opportunity to pass the buck. The observation I made about the need to ensure that——
Does the Senator mean marketing of Shannon Airport or marketing of the Shannon region?
Shannon Development stated it is not their responsibility, it is the responsibility of Shannon Marketing. I am aware that Shannon Marketing relates to the airport. What I am concerned about is the agility of people to avail of an opportunity to pass the buck. The comments I made about the need to ensure that Bord Fáilte is accountable to the tourism industry are made with equal force in relation to Shannon Development having a responsibility and being accountable to the tourism industry in the region.
I mentioned the fact that the tourism figures for the mid-west and the south-west have shown growth of 1 per cent. Senator McGowan mentioned a hotelier in his area. In the area of north Clare we are fortunate to have a man from Senator McGowan's county — they would not have shared the same political persuasion — Mr. Jim White, a former Member of the Lower House. The White Hotel Group in Lisdoonvarna has accommodation for 500 people. Mr. White carries out his own marketing. At present he has 500 Austrians per night staying in his hotels for a period of six weeks from mid-May to the end of this month. The same 500 bedrooms were occupied from the St. Patrick's Day weekend to the middle of May by British tourists. They will be filled with the normal influx of tourists during July and August. During September and October, Mr. White will fill those rooms from sources on the continent.
Much concentration has been placed on the tourism market in the United States. Mr. White tried that market but later abandoned it. He did so because only 5 per cent to 10 per cent of the population of the United States holds a passport and only 10 per cent of US citizens have ever travelled outside their native state. Mr. White says that the opportunities for growth there are too restricted. This is the practical experience of somebody on the ground, successfully marketing his own product. If that is Mr. White's experience we must ask why our tourism bodies are concentrating so much on the American market. Mr. White transferred his marketing operation to Europe and the UK about five years ago and he fills his 500 bed-nights during the season from these two markets. To use the jargon of the tourism bodies, he is responsible for providing in excess of 100,000 bednights per year in Lisdoonvarna. If that figure were excluded there would be a minus percentage of tourists who visited the mid-west rather than 1 per cent growth.
I have a certain concern about the operation of contractors in the licensing of restaurants under the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1988. I am satisfied with the Minister's comments that responsibility will rest with him, and through him, to set the standards and regulations in association with Bord Fáilte. I welcome his comments on the monitoring of the performance of contractors and to regularly review that performance.
I want to refer briefly to the Overseas Tourism Marketing Initiative. The Minister has stated that the Government is providing £4 million for the OTMI this year; when the contribution in respect of Northern Ireland is included the total amount available is £6.5 million. It is an initiative between the Government and the private sector. Concern was expressed some years ago, when the initiative was being put in place, that this money was not being made available to Bord Fáilte. The Minister provided a very convincing argument why it should not go through that channel and why it should be used in a separate way. The comments made at that time, and the justification put forward for taking that particular route, are finding a certain echo in this House today. The concerns that were beginning to emerge at that stage have since grown unmistakably. I welcome the initiative the Minister has taken in restructuring Bord Fáilte because there is a need to put in place a method of continuous performance testing and accountability of the industry.
The peace process was mentioned and the country is thankfully enjoying the benefit of it in terms of tourism, etc. Perhaps this has not spread to my own area as effectively as it has to the Border counties. I recently attended a conference in Cavan. That county, with due respect, is coming from a low base in the tourism stakes but it is benefiting from the peace process. Their optimism, on the basis of forward bookings, is one bright speck on the horizon. I am sure the same is true of Donegal and possibly Sligo, we are all benefiting to a certain degree. I am happy to say that there is an equal flow of tourists from this part of the island to the North also.
I want to refer in passing to EU funds which are mainly available for facilities and upgrading the product. We have a good product and we must continue to upgrade it. There is little point in having that product unless it is effectively marketed and sold overseas to attract tourists to Ireland.
I want to refer a certain matter I raised last week; I was told later that a number of my colleagues did not understand what I was talking about. I will spell it out in more detail because the relevant Minister is present. We all recognise the importance of the tourism industry to the our economy. The United Kingdom is our nearest market. There are many ties between the two populations and there is enormous potential in that market. For that reason, I unreservedly condemn notices that have appeared in certain outlets saying "No sterling accepted". I think it reflects a damaging and small-minded anti-British attitude. I have never seen a notice saying "No dollars accepted". There is no problem where the dollar is concerned.
I am in the retail business and I accept sterling without question. The people who spend it on my premises are good and valued customers and I welcome their custom. I have been paying at face value. I changed sterling last week and my loss was 3.7 per cent. For the business I received, I am quite happy to give that discount to the people concerned and they appreciated it. I know that because of certain political developments in the UK the exchange rate has moved a little since then. On checking it this morning, the cost of changing sterling into punts is still less than 5 per cent.
I remember a heated debate here many years ago when I first came into the Seanad. I was in Opposition at the time and certain Senators, who were in Government, talked of notices displayed in certain guesthouses in the UK which read "No Irish wanted". Now, we are effectively saying that through the narrow retailers who are putting up these notices. I want the Minister to investigate whether there is an opportunity under our present anti-discrimination laws to ensure these notices come down.
Another angle on this is that the people to whom I spoke, and whose sterling I accepted at face value, told me that the night before they were charged 10 per cent in a hotel to change sterling. That is a rip-off and should be denounced.
The message is simple. We are saying to people from the UK — we are saying it through these retailers who display these notices — that we do not want them and their sterling. That message is damaging to our country; it is damaging to the enterprise, risk and the efforts of the many individuals in the industry who have built it up and made it attractive to tourists from the UK. It is damaging to the industry and to the peace process because through these notices we are conveying to the people on the other side of the Border that we do not want them or their sterling.
This is the beginning of the tourist season and if the Minister or his Department can do anything to get rid of this unacceptable face of discrimination, I ask them to act on it.
I am delighted to see the Minister here. I have confidence in his ability, enthusiasm and energy to tackle effectively that which needs to be done for this industry. In so far as the Bill is a first instalment I welcome it as such but expect more.
I welcome the Minister and his Bill to the House. I must begin by echoing Senator Howard's last point. I, too, have had experience of this very unfortunate situation regarding notices being put up, reading "Sterling not accepted", in an area where I had organised a conference.
I belong to several international medical organisations. When we are abroad and the question arises as to where the next conference will be held, you can be sure everyone will look at us. Organising a conference is a lot of hard work and it is extremely difficult to get out of hosting a conference in Ireland because people are most enthusiastic to come here.
I organised a conference in early May in White's Hotel, Wexford, with people from the continent and Britain, and people came down from Northern Ireland too. We had a banquet in Johnstown Castle, which is a splendid site for a banquet, and the Minister for the Environment, Deputy Howlin, attended. To my horror, some of the people came back to tell me that there were notices on some tills in Wexford which said "Sterling not accepted". However, they were polite enough to laugh it off. This was an appalling thing to see, and not just from the point of view of making tourists feel so unwelcome. I had brought people from Northern Ireland and Great Britain here and we had talked about the peace process at great length and the peace initiatives we could take in regard to health on an all Ireland basis. To have this sort of thing happen was acutely embarrassing.
I think the Minister should take this to heart. He should send some of his officials to make spot checks because it is acutely embarrassing if you are organising hospitality here. I received praise about the staff in the hotel, the standard of food at the banquet, the kindness of those who organised the walking and riding tours and then the embarrassment to see these notices, especially, as Senator Howard said, as they relate to one currency only. If no foreign currency was being taken, it might be different but to see signs put up when I had welcomed people off the boat at Rosslare was extremely depressing. I strongly support what Senator Howard said and hope the Minister will investigate it.
I am delighted to see the Minister stress the need to promote an all Ireland tourist trade here. I wish Senator Gordon Wilson was with us today because we had talked about this quite a lot. I was joking with him last week, telling him that I was at a medical conference in Barcelona recently. In my weak Italian, I spoke to a Spanish hairdresser who told me that her son came to Ireland three years running to learn English. Of course, coming from south county Dublin, I had expected her to say he was in Bray, which seems to be full of Spanish students. "No.", she said, "He loves Fermanagh. He always goes to Fermanagh to learn English". We have a tremendous potential to sell the country on an all Ireland basis.
I remember Senator Wilson saying he was so pleased to see that the maps of Ireland were now all green. He really got fed up looking at that desert brown we used designate to Northern Ireland when we were sending out tourist brochures. I think that was most unfortunate.
I praise the Minister and all those in the background who are trying to make all Ireland holidays acceptable, who are promoting the Giant's Causeway as much as the Lakes of Killarney, and Fermanagh as much as the sunny southeast. This is absolutely essential, not just from a commercial point of view but to aid the peace process. I am delighted at the number of people from the Republic who tell me they have gone on day trips, or longer trips, to Northern Ireland. They were astonished that they had enjoyed themselves so well and that there was so much to see — the Glens of Antrim, the Mourne Mountains, Deny, etc. This aspect of tourism must be encouraged and promoted.
I know many of the functions of Bord Fáilte are to be removed but I would like to praise it for the work it has done over the years. They have made an incredible difference in this country, with the Tidy Towns competition, etc. When we travel around Ireland now, we cannot but be filled with pride by the great improvements in the small towns and villages.
As regards the conference in Wexford, I went there by train and the countryside looked terrific. Wexford looks splendid. Wherever you look great improvements have been made. I hope the Department of the Environment manages to run the Tidy Towns competition as effectively, as enthusiastically and as energetically as Bord Fáilte. At one stage, there was cutthroat competition to win. I lived in Killiney before moving into town and Killiney and Ballybrack were competing with Malahide. People tried to see where the best improvements could be made. It was not just a case of winning but of making the best improvements. I hope the Department of the Environment's stewardship of the Tidy Towns competition will be looked at closely. It has been a splendid success and I hope it will continue.
One of the Bill's most important innovations is the change in the monitoring of the classification or grading of hotels, guesthouses, holiday hostels, youth hostels, holiday camps, caravan and camping sites, holiday cottages and apartment group schemes. I have some anxiety about this going to private contractors. I would have preferred had this function remained the responsibility of the State.
This a licence to print money. When going abroad the first thing one does with regard to accommodation and sightseeing is to get a holiday guide. It will have to be monitored very rigorously. One of the guides to Ireland which I read mentioned a restaurant close to here which had been closed for two years. I also remember seeing a Chinese takeaway not far from here described as a good Chinese restaurant.
I hope very rigorous monitoring of these contractors is undertaken. High fees are charged and the various restaurants, hotels and guesthouses are naturally anxious to have as good a grading as possible given to their establishments as it is a key selling point to tourists. I note the contract can be given for five years only and will be monitored yearly. I cannot urge the Minister to employ spies, but I hope this will be most carefully monitored.
I am pleased the Minister is to review the criteria for certified restaurants with regard to the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1988. I always have to be careful when discussing this Act in the presence of the many knowledgeable vintners in this House. The extension of that Act to restaurants has not been a success. Only about 150 restaurants have taken up the licences which were extended to them because they carry with them strict criteria and are also extremely expensive. One has to put down £6,000 to apply for a licence which extends to a restaurant and about £400 per year for an inspection.
A sum of £400 is not large for a major restaurant which is open all year. However, it is a great deal of money — never mind the £6,000 which has to be put down in the first place — for a small restaurant in a small town or tourist area which is only open three or four months of the year but which hopes to expand and open longer. My figures may be wrong, but I wonder if it is wise to have the same flat fee for all restaurants. Perhaps the Minister may consider grading the fee.
There is a lot to be said for making the regulations for pubs which serve food and restaurants which serve drink more equitable. The regulations seem to be based mainly on monitoring the restaurants more than the pubs. Many pubs now serve good substantial meals. However, even the regulations regarding lavatories etc. are totally different as between the two. I suggest the Minister might consider that matter.
Some regulations only encourage people to break the law, one of which concerns the serving of drink in restaurants on Sundays. Anyone trying to improve their lunch time trade on Sundays has to stop serving drink at 1 p.m., which is about the time people want to eat and have wine with their meal. Sunday lunch is quite a celebration for families on the Continent and we will no doubt see increased prosperity under this Government. I have not heard of any prosecutions in this regard but rather than allow the law to be flouted, which is never a good idea, the Minister might consider extending the regulations so they would be more equitable.
The National Economic and Social Forum has considered the services industries to be one sector where there is room for expansion. The restaurant trade is a large employer in the services categories. Another regulation the Minister might examine is that regarding smoking in restaurants, whereby there have to be smoking and non-smoking areas. It might be better to have a public policy of no smoking in public places where food is being consumed rather than having restauranteurs divide small premises into smoking and non-smoking areas, which is not satisfactory from their point of view.
This Bill is important because there are great opportunities for employment in tourism. I urge the Minister to further progress the training of people for the tourist industry. More training is needed in foreign languages, even at a basic level. One does not have to be a linguist to learn to cater for a tourist's basic requirements. Proprietors should be encouraged to ensure people in their premises are capable of taking an order-in three or four foreign languages. They do not have to learn dinner party Italian or how to translate great theses in German, but a basic command of tourist friendly foreign languages. We should concentrate on the European languages; Japanese is a little more difficult but is not impossible as only a basic level of the language is required.
More emphasis needs to be put on the training of front of house staff. We have had a bad attitude towards service as a demeaning activity. Having visited various establishments abroad, one notices the great pride taken by waiting staff or front of house staff. I would like to see us develop a natural pride in this regard. One always notices the extraordinary friendliness and helpfulness of people in the tourist industry here, but more training in the services would not go amiss.
I gather some of the CERT training courses for waiting, for example, are never filled. CERT could be asked to adopt less rigid entry requirements. It might sometimes be better accepting people with less high academic qualifications if they have experience in the industry and have shown they are responsive to the needs of tourists. Age qualifications are also too strict. People who have gone into the services sector from another industry should be encouraged to go on formal training courses.
The Minister might encourage CERT to be a little more flexible. In the universities we have taken in mature students and found them to be among the best students. Perhaps CERT could also be more flexible in its outlook regarding the trainees who are taken into the service industry. I wish the Minister good luck with the Bill and, if he does not employ anyone to spy on the contractors, I will be keeping a careful one woman watch as I go around the country, which I do a lot.
One can stay in historic houses in the "hidden Ireland" for incredibly little money and have a great time. Again, I praise the Minister for Finance for having eased the residential property tax burden on owners of such houses, by allowing those that open their houses for bed and breakfast accommodation for a certain length of the year to qualify for tax relief. This has made a huge difference because if one opens a house to the public and no one will come to have a look at it, the security costs are so much greater than the tax advantages one might have and that is an impossible situation. Therefore, the Minister for Finance is to be commended for that move.
I welcome the Minister to the House for the first time and I wish him well with this Bill. I am pleased that the Minister, as one who comes from the west of Ireland, understands the problems and the hardship of rural areas and that he will be sympathetic to what I have to say. I will be positive and I will be as brief as possible.
Tourism has played an important role in bringing much needed revenue and jobs to this country over the years. Bord Fáilte Éireann, as the State agency responsible, has done an excellent job. We must always bear in mind, however, that tourism is the greatest growth industry in the country and will continue to be so for many years. Therefore, it was essential to commission consultants to review the effectiveness of the existing arrangements for the promotion of Ireland as a tourist destination. It was correct to select consultants from within the country to do this work. The recruitment of new blood was necessary. The appointment of a new dynamic marketing director and some staff changes will bring about a new and more vigorous Bord Fáilte. An attractive voluntary severance package has been made available to the staff and I am pleased that management, unions and staff alike have entered into dialogue in this sensitive area, as no compulsory redundancy is envisaged. We can see at the moment that there are other areas of commercial Ireland where that position did not prevail. There has been much industrial trouble in recent times.
Pilot relief schemes for certain resorts are welcome in the many areas which have fallen below international standards. I am pleased to see many resorts in the northwest, west and southwest of Ireland included in these schemes, as employment is not easily found in these parts. Unlike my colleague. Senator Howard, I believe that we have the strands and quality of water on the western and southwestern seaboard which can rival anything on the eastern seaboard. Many areas of this island have over the years become household names abroad through the great work of Bord Fáilte. However, there are many beautiful areas in "hidden Ireland" which are awaiting funding and marketing. To do this, we must firstly have a road infrastructure to reach into these areas. The Minister will be aware of that on the western seaboard. Co-operation between the Department of the Environment and Bord Fáilte is essential for this to be successful. In my home town of Kanturk, which is the capital of Duhallow and in the constituency of Cork North-West, there has been a decline in population of over 1,500 people over the past ten years. This is of great concern to the residents of the town.
I have a friend in the barony of Duhallow who has promoted cultural music in the Sliabh Luachra area, which straddles both Cork and Kerry. In that area, some 300 students of traditional music congregate in his establishment to learn the old tunes, the old styles and to preserve them for future generations. To date, he has not got one brass farthing from any Government agency, cultural or tourist. Also in that area, we hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in the town of Millstreet, which is 12 miles from Kanturk. In this small town of Millstreet, for the first time outside of Dublin, we had a marvellous achievement. Recently, at the same venue, we promoted a world boxing title fight — Eubank v. Collins. Many scenic and historic areas were shown on Sky Television to promote that area. In recent years, through track and field and football pitch, many of our sportsmen and sportswomen have been tremendous ambassadors for this island in their activities throughout the world.
With a stable and trouble-free six counties, this country is poised to receive a large influx of Northern and British tourists as well as the many tourists from mainland Europe, America and Australia. Given the proper presentation in quality, variety, value for money, impressive training and quality standards in tourism, we will have substantial growth in tourism and those tourists will come back. The projection of increased overseas revenue of £2,250 million by 1999 can be accomplished, as can the creation of up to 350,000 full time jobs between 1994 and 1999. The new Bord Fáilte will, through marketing, spread the benefits of tourism to the most populated areas and to the most remote also. In doing so, many areas suffering from decline and depopulation will benefit. However, there are those who believe that in promoting rural Ireland we are promoting a reservation image. We have nothing to hide from our past. If some mud botháns still exist in Ireland, it is not out of choice. I thank the Minister for his time and wish him well with the Bill.
Senator Mooney now has a chance to put Drumshanbo on the map. Sorry, it is there already.
I welcome the Minister to the House. This is the first occasion on which I have had the opportunity of addressing the Minister in a debate and I wish him every success with his portfolio. It also affords me an opportunity to pay tribute to his father, the late Deputy Henry Kenny, who as the then Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance in the early 1970s was the first Minister to provide funding for a survey of the Lough Allen canal. This ultimately led to the reopening of two thirds of that canal in 1973. Sadly, Deputy Kenny did not live long enough to be present for the official reopening of the canal, which has contributed significantly to the economic well-being of my home town of Drumshanbo — that is only the first time I will mention Drumshanbo in this speech. It is one of life's coincidences that Deputy Enda Kenny, the son of the late Henry, should be Minister for Tourism and Trade in the year that the remaining portion of the Lough Allen canal will be reopened and so provide uninterrupted access for the entire length of the Shannon waterway and allow both visitors and residents alike a first opportunity in over 60 years to sample the scenic delights of one of County Leitrim's and Ireland's most impressive lakes.
I note the Minister referred in his contribution to angling tourism and the funds that will be provided under the Operational Programme for Tourism, 1994-1999. It affords me an opportunity to highlight a difficulty which has arisen between the Lough Allen angling club and a number of State agencies in relation to funding. County Leitrim boasts some of the finest coarse fishing lakes in Europe, yet it is difficult to gain access to them. I am sure the Minister is aware of such lakes in County Mayo and throughout the west and I am sure you, Sir, know some in County Kerry. Lack of funding from local authorities means that these lakes are only accessible because of the goodwill of local farmers who have provided stiles, gates and pathways in an altruistic way, without monetary compensation. Many fishing lakes in rural Ireland would continue to be inaccessible but for their goodwill and far sightedness. However, it is still difficult to gain access to a substantial number of these lakes.
I appreciate that the fishery boards, in conjunction with local authorities, are doing what they can in this regard. Before this operational programme was put in place, angling tourism was never acknowledged in its own right as a contributory factor in the tourist economy. The inclusion of this sum of money under a specific heading means that I and my contemporaries in rural Ireland, who know that the development of our coarse fishing lakes will make a significant contribution to the local economy, will now be pressing hard for this money to be spent as quickly as possible and trying to ensure that more funding is made available under this heading. When the Minister's colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise and Employment, Deputy E. Fitzgerald, was the Minister of State at the Department of Finance under the last Administration, she acknowledged that angling tourism had a significant impact on job creation. The Government now acknowledges that angling tourism will make a significant contribution to the tourist economy.
The local angling association in Drumshanbo, which has a keen interest in ensuring the development of Lough Alien and other lakes as fishing lakes, in conjunction with the Shannon Fisheries Board, submitted a development plan for a number of our premier lakes in County Leitrim, including Lough Allen, which was referred to as the jewel in the crown. These lakes form the basis for the initial development of proper coarse fishing facilities in our area and were included in the Shannon Fisheries Board development plan which was submitted to the Department of the Marine. However, no decision has yet been taken on the allocation of funds to the various fisheries boards.
I would be grateful if the Minister would address the issue of funding for angling tourism, as it applies to his brief. I appreciate that this issue covers two Departments and that the bulk of the money is being administered through the Department of the Marine, in conjunction with Bord Fáilte and the fisheries boards. I am not trying to put the Minister on the spot; he is the only Minister in the Administration who has a special interest in this area. While he is not responsible for the bulk of the funding which will be expended under the operational programme for angling tourism, the fact that he refers to it in his speech and that it impacts on his wider brief as Minister for Tourism and Trade means that he has more than a passing interest in ensuring that this element of the tourist package is proceeded with as quickly as possible.
I raise this issue because it is causing frustration in my area and I am sure the same is happening throughout the country. I appreciate that these matters move slowly, but the Shannon Fisheries Board and the Northern Fisheries Board, which impacts on part of my county — I can only speak for them — have fishery development programmes which include specific considerations as regards access. I re-emphasise that there is no point having premier coarse fishing lakes in this country if people cannot reach them or if they have to climb across three stiles and walk through four fields and six meadows to get to them.
Angling tourism, like other forms of tourism, is a highly competitive area and fishermen and women have easy access to continental fishing lakes. Air travel to the Continent costs less from England than it does from here. The vast bulk of our coarse fishing industry depends on the anglers, who constitute the majority of visitors to this country. This vital component should not and cannot be underestimated in the development of angling resources in this country. I hope the Minister forgives me for singling out this issue which impacts on his wider brief. Perhaps he is now more aware of the difficulties in this area. I hope the money is released and that the development plans, as agreed by the various fisheries boards, can be implemented.
I agree that the activities of Bord Fáilte should be subject to review. It is also important to put on record my acknowledgement of the outstanding contribution made by employees of Bord Fáilte since its inception in building up Ireland as a premier tourist destination. The Minister said that for the first time in 1994 the number of overseas visitors exceeded the size of the domestic population. Seven or eight years ago an article in The Economist on tourism referred to the fact that it would be a great achievement for a country if it could attract double its population. We are fast moving in that direction.
It is important to address the impact which the increasing number of visitors will have on Ireland as a tourist destination. I am sure the Minister is already looking at the warning signals as a result of the experience of other tourist destinations. Increased tourist traffic in a number of tourist destinations means they are now almost off limits and they are no longer an attraction because of the huge numbers who visit them. We have not reached that point yet. County Kerry, where Senator Fitzgerald comes from, is, traditionally, the premier tourist destination in this country. I am sure the people of Killarney would not like me to suggest that fewer people should visit their lovely town and district, but Killarney is an example of what may happen throughout Ireland in the future. The various flagship tourist destinations in this country are now attracting increasing numbers of people.
The Minister's cultural, historical and physical background means that he will be more than anxious to ensure that the allocation of funding for the development of tourist facilities will be done on a nationwide basis rather than focusing on those areas which are already attracting visitors. One could read that as a coded message for more money for the west. In acknowledging Bord Fáilte for building up Ireland as a premier tourist destination, I welcome the statistics announced by the Minister which prove that tourism is a major contributor to the Irish economy. I hope that continues for a long time.
My late father, Senator Joseph Mary Mooney, had a lifelong devotion to developing our tourism resources, especially in County Leitrim. Consequently, I was aware from a very young age of the importance of tourism as a product and the necessity to develop our natural assets, such as our friendliness to visitors and our rich cultural and historical heritage. It was no surprise that, when Bord Fáilte initiated the concept of An Tóstal in 1953, my father became honorary secretary of the Drumshanbo An Tóstal Council.
An Tóstal —"Ireland at Home"— was an immediate success. Although the name changed, it was an indication of my father's commitment to the original concept that, at the time of his death in 1988, Drumshanbo was and remains the only centre in Ireland to hoist the unique An Tóstal maroon and gold flag with its distinctive harp logo.
Although An Tóstal councils no longer exist, with the exception of Drumshanbo, the ideas generated in those far off days have come to fruition with the outstanding success of events such as the festival of Kerry, which incorporates the Rose of Tralee contest, the Wexford Opera Festival, the Dundalk Maytime Festival, the Letterkenny Folk Festival and the Galway Oyster Festival. The list goes on and on. Many such events owe their existence to the creative energy unleashed by Bord Fáilte as far back as 1953.
It is salutary to reflect on this point. We sometimes think that marketing. merchandising, logos, brand names and product identification are phenomena of the modern age. However, as far back as the late 1940s and the early 1950s there were dedicated public servants in Government, and subsequently within the Bord Fáilte organisation. who saw the potential of Ireland as a tourist destination highlighting and emphasising our natural assets rather than imposing an outside culture.
The whole concept of An Tóstal and the slogan "Ireland at Home" was to portray an island at peace and at rest with itself, which people could visit and see us as we really are and not as we think we should be. It is due to this natural inclination to hold on to the traditional aspects of our character that Ireland is now such a popular place to visit. We are different; we are unique. There is diversity in our uniqueness and we should not tamper with the natural and national perception of Ireland and its assets — its friendliness and its cultural and historical heritage — within that diversity.
While I welcome the updating of the hotel and bed and breakfast registrations procedures, I am surprised by the appointment of a Welsh based firm of consultants to carry it out. I fully accept the Minister has followed proper EU directive procedures in recommending this company but I could not help feeling a certain amount of sympathy for another jurisdiction when I heard a little Englander referring to the sovereignty of his country and that he did not want any outside influences. I could not help but reflect on whether we would have ended up with a Welsh company if we did not have to comply with the EU directive on competing tenders from across Europe. However, this is a matter of conjecture.
I have nothing against this company; I do not know who they are and I do not wish to give the impression that I am reflecting on their ability in any way. However, I was amused by the involvement of a non-Irish company in assessing the quality of Irish tourism. We may not have led the world in this area but our Welsh friends will have learned much more from us about how to market the tourism product than we ever learned from them. I will be interested to hear about and monitor the development of this particular company. As the Minister pointed out, the company will be setting up an Irish subsidiary which will employ local labour. Despite the fact that the company is Welsh, it appears the operation will be run by Irish people. I wish them well. This is an important development and I am sure the Minister will report on its progress as it develops.
Will the Minister address the scourge of unregistered bed and breakfast accommodation? I refer to it as a scourge because I believe this is the case. I accept it may not be a popular view because such activities provide valuable income for cash strapped families, who may have a spare room which they wish to use for bed and breakfast accommodation. I do not suggest a witch hunt in this area, but it is grossly unfair to registered bed and breakfast owners who undertake the registration process, adhere to all the criteria laid down at considerable cost and then pay tax on the income generated. Yet, they must compete with unregistered, fly by night operators in, usually, a small town or geographic area where there is intense competition for the tourist numbers involved.
Does the Minister agree it is unfair that such unregistered bed and breakfast houses can, with impunity and without any responsibility in terms of developing Ireland as a tourist product, put up and take down their signs whenever it suits them, charge less than the agreed rate among registered owners and in many cases provide questionable standards of accommodation and food which can have such a damaging impact on our tourism image? This is an old chestnut and reasons are put forward for it not to be stamped out but the Minster, even in his short time in office, will have borne the wrath of the existing organisations in this area, the town and country homes which offer bed and breakfast and Bord Fáilte who has been lobbying strongly for Government action in this area.
I do not know how it can be stamped out and I am not sure it should be totally eradicated. However, if the Minister who is charged with responsibility for developing this country as a premier tourist destination is putting forward various elements of a tourism package, this area should not be ignored. It is not fair that people should decide, if they are going on holidays, that they will not provide accommodation for others.
I must declare a vested interest in this matter. My widowed mother relies to a great extent on registered bed and breakfast accommodation to provide her with an income in her old age. She is put in the position of having to compete with unregistered bed and breakfast operators in an area which is trying very hard to attract more visitors. It is not Killarney or Galway, where there are countless numbers of people coming to the area and it does not really matter. This issue should be addressed in some way and there should be some form of registration. Some sort of sanction should be placed on people who wish to go into this area rather than the current position where there do not appear to be any regulations.
What are the Revenue Commissioners doing about this? This question arises across the board; for example, it came up last week in the context of drug dealing. Perhaps the Revenue Commissioners should be checking with the Motor Registration Office to see what size cars the drug dealers are using despite having no visible means of income. The same might be applied to the lifestyles of people who own unregistered bed and breakfast accommodation.
I am pleased the Minister indicated that the increase in funding from £18 million to £22 million this year will include the financing of signposting and tourist information offices. These are vital ingredients in the overall tourist package, as the Minister acknowledges. Although my local authority has an excellent record in signposting despite its limited resources — I am sure my colleague. Senator Reynolds, would endorse this point — the Minister has a role in ensuring that a specific sum of money is set aside each year for local authorities, especially in rural counties where population levels are low, to upgrade their signposting policies.
The Minister rightly placed great stress on the employment potential of the Irish tourism industry. However, since the creation of the county enterprise boards, which were set up specifically to create local employment, I have become aware that their policy guidelines do not allow them to grant aid tourism projects unless a specific job creation element is involved. I refer to promotional activities which do not have a direct job creation element but which would have a downstream impact. For example, if a county, or an individual, decides to promote their area, surely the eventual impact of this exercise is increased tourist numbers which, in turn, provide jobs to service this increase. The Minister should consult his colleague, the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, and review the guidelines in this context.
I welcome the initiative which will seek to develop a specific brand for Ireland as a tourist destination and I hope it will not be narrowly focused. Ireland means different things to different people and I hope due recognition will be given to the enormous contribution made by Irish entertainers, such as Daniel O'Donnell, U2, the Cranberries and the collective talents embodied in the wonderful cultural organisation, Comhaltas Ceoltoirí Éireann, which has done more to attract visitors to Ireland than perhaps is acknowledged. Entertainers of international status should be harnessed more effectively to sell Ireland, something which they are already doing in a voluntary capacity. The contribution made by Irish football supporters abroad in identifying Ireland as a fun place to spend a holiday should not be underestimated and Bord Fáilte is to be complimented in identifying Irish supporters as a valuable conduit during their visit to America for the World Cup last year.
My last point relates to the renewal scheme for coastal resorts, an initiative taken by the Minister which I wholeheartedly endorse. The Minister stated that this scheme is complementary to the urban renewal scheme. I ask him to consider introducing a similar scheme for small inland towns and villages and identifiable tourism areas with particular reference to the west in a line from Dublin to Galway. Falling population, poor infrastructure and the war in Northern Ireland have all contributed to a decline in tourist activity in an area that few will disagree holds some of the most beautiful parts of Europe. These areas — my own County Leitrim is an example — do not have the financial resources or the seed capital necessary to develop tourist services without some form of State aid. The Government would receive the lasting thanks of the people of County Leitrim and the west if it would develop schemes complementary to the existing Leader programme and other rural development initiatives which have done so much in recent years to lift morale and provide jobs for the people of the west.
I am grateful to you, Sir, for indulging me and I wish the Minister well. I commend the Bill to the House.
I am glad Senator Mooney has made a strong plea for extra funding for County Leitrim. I compliment the Minister on his appointment — this is the first time I have seen him in the House. He has made a great start. He is the first Minister for Tourism and Trade who has been able to get a direct line to our Lord to give us such good weather. We will give the Minister the title "Minister for Sun" and Fine Gael will take credit for the good weather.
And the flooding.
Long may this good weather continue.
The rainbow.
I welcome the provisions in the Bill updating the registration and grading of our tourist accommodation and giving an independent company the power to adjudicate. The role that Bord Fáilte has played for the last number of years in the development of our tourism industry has been very significant, but it has been too diverse. The proper road to take at this stage would be to allow it to specialise in the development and growth of our tourism industry.
I know that counties like Meath do not have a strong tourism identity but there are individuals in this House who are working strongly to ensure that it is put on the tourist map over the next number of years. I hope the Minister, after he has looked after the west, and Counties Mayo and Leitrim in particular, will consider giving special incentives to tourists to visit County Meath. Some parts of that county are disadvantaged and I have no doubt Senator Farrelly will put that point across more than adequately.
I now wish to refer to the independent company that will be set up to grade tourist accommodation. Senator Mooney called unregistered accommodation the scourge of the tourism industry and, to some extent, I would agree with him. However, Bord Fáilte may have played a role in the mushrooming of many of these unregistered accommodations. For example, an individual in my county built a house costing in the region of £90,000 but was not allowed to register it because it had an extra door in the kitchen. That person has since started up an unregistered B and B and is doing tremendous business. Bord Fáilte was not willing to take into consideration other facilities that were available. If that has happened once, I assume it has happened numerous times around the country.
While it is extremely important to have strict guidelines and first class accommodation, if there is no leeway in the criteria to help people to overcome these problems there will be a mushrooming of unregistered accommodation. This new body will have to take this issue on as a priority because it is very important. B and Bs will have to register for VAT. If there is a mushrooming of unregistered B and Bs, they would be unfair competition for the registered operators. I have no doubt that this independent body will look into all these issues and have them rectified.
Bord Fáilte could play a huge role in marketing this country. It has done so over a long number of years but when it is just given a specific criterion, it will do a good and worthwhile job. There is huge potential for an increase in tourist numbers over the next few years and Bord Fáilte will play a large part in helping to develop, socially and economically, certain areas in this country.
For example, £35 million was spent on the Shannon-Erne link, the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal, and it has been a tremendous success. As somebody who comes from Ballinamore, I cannot give enough credit to the organisations and institutions that have been involved.
I hope the, Senator includes Charlie Haughey.
I always said that. However, Fianna Fáil got rid of him when Mr. Haughey gave money to County Leitrim.
The reason I gave the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal as an example, and I hope Senator Mooney will support me on this, is that a pilot marketing scheme was set up there for three years; it will finish next March. The role that Terry McGovern and his staff have played in bringing such a large number of tourists to the area deserves to be mentioned and I thank them for the role they have played. Before that, Ballinamore and parts of County Leitrim were not seen as major tourist attractions. Over the last two years we have seen the growth in the development of the area. The amount of financial support that has been given to this scheme was tremendous and one can see the social and economic development of the towns. I have no doubt that the opening up of the Drumshanbo canal to allow Lough Alien to become navigable will also have a tremendous effect on that area. It is taking a little longer than we anticipated but hopefully we will see the cruisers there shortly.
I also welcome the increase in the capital programme from £18 million to £22 million. The only comment I would make here — I assume the Minster has taken this into consideration in this Bill — would be about the amount of bureaucracy that people or companies applying for projects have to go through before their project was accepted or they got financial assistance. It took a long time because the Department, Bord Fáilte and other agencies were involved. It is important to streamline this scheme. Last week Senator Mooney had the House adjourned because of the objection made by the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Higgins, to a proposed Masonite plant in County Leitrim and the visual impact it would have on the River Shannon. I raise this matter because the Minister rightly suggested that Leitrim has a tremendous role to play in the promotion of tourism. As my colleague, Senator Mooney, suggested, the Minister should give serious consideration to Leitrim being included as a pilot scheme for special tax incentives so that we would be able to get the Masonite jobs as well as employing more people due to the county's extra tourism potential.
Sensible chap.
Sitting suspended at 1 p.m. and resumed at 2 p.m.
I welcome the Minister to the House. He is a reasonably young man and an old friend of mine. I do not have to elaborate on Dingle because the Minister and I spent a few nights there together and I am sure he enjoyed it.
I have fond memories of the Senator's acquaintance and of Sunday mornings during by-elections.
There were no by-elections then. I wish the Minister every success in his portfolio. I am extremely happy with the direction he is taking at present. I would not be as complimentary about Bord Fáilte over the years. Nevertheless, I must recognise that they did an amount.
The Bill does two things. It increases the amount of money from £18 million to £22 million and gives the supervising and grading of hotels, guest houses and so on to another agency. Where did Bord Fáilte go wrong over the years? Some 20 to 25 years after Bord Fáilte was established we are still sending people out to bring tourists to Ireland. After that length of time one would think that the whole world would know about us.
I was very disappointed one night in Dingle when a group of newspaper reporters from Europe visited on the invitation of Bord Fáilte. I was talking to some of them and asked how they got as far as Dingle. They told me that Bord Fáilte had been nominated the best tourist board in Europe that year. It was a surprise to me and I said I had not realised we were that good. I asked them how they would rate Bord Fáilte and they answered that it throws the best parties and that is why it was nominated the best tourist organisation in Europe. That is not the way to sell Ireland.
I hope that things will change a little after the restructuring of Bord Fáilte. The organisation needs to buck up and it will receive warnings. Like everything else, it is not just Bord Fáilte's fault. The hotels, guest houses and others involved in tourism do not complain when they have genuine complaints about Bord Fáilte. It is up to people to complain to the Minister and he will take action. There is too much hush hush and whispering and nobody knows what is happening.
I had a gripe with Bord Fáilte. I had to contradict Senator Mooney when he was talking about unapproved guest houses. In 1972 we applied to be registered with Bord Fáilte and in February of that year a lady from Bord Fáilte visited us. I had a new house with four bedrooms. There was no en suite at that time but there was hot and cold water in every room and carpets on the floor. I had a good house, but she complained about everything under the sun, including the absence of ashtrays, glasses and towels from the rooms. I said: “For God's sake, this is February.”
The same year houses in the town were passed and had the Bord Fáilte sign on their windows, but they had only an outside toilet. I got cranky and told the lady to leave. I did not join Bord Fáilte until two years ago. I cocked my nose over that incident. Another great restaurant and guest house in the town left Bord Fáilte because of disagreements over little things. One cannot go to Dingle, Mayo or anywhere else and check a person's house in the middle of February. The time to check is now when we are in business. A spot check should be done at this time of the year.
Bord Fáilte are losing out because they are not allowing the small operator or guest house to be registered. I would contradict Senator Mooney again when he said that a person with one or two bedrooms is operating illegally. They are not operating illegally because they cannot join Bord Fáilte. One has to have either three or four bedrooms before one can join. People, including my neighbours, have been turned down, not because there was anything wrong with the house but because they did not have enough bedrooms. The new organisation, Family Homes of Ireland, has signs all over the country and they are more plentiful than the Bord Fáilte shamrock signs. I suppose any sign of approval is better than no sign.
People say there is something special in Kerry, Dingle and Killarney. Maybe there is, but any part of Ireland which is properly sold, managed and looked after can be the same as Killarney, Dingle or anywhere else.
Those places are absolutely unique.
The Minister could look at his county. I spent a week canvassing in Blacksod peninsula and there were only three bed and breakfasts in the whole peninsula.
That is right.
On my canvas I told people to put up a sign, join Bord Fáilte and get going. They could not understand why I was so anxious to get them to put up signs. A week later I was going back again and I rang the hotel in——
The Western Strand.
It was full because of an angling competition. I rang each of the three bed and breakfasts and they were full. How can people go there if there is no accommodation? One has to get going in this area. If there is anything special in Kerry it is that the people involved in tourism in Killarney over the years promoted Kerry.
One can travel up the west coast of Ireland and find that Clare is a beautiful county. Galway is a beautiful county, although it is fairly good for tourism. Mayo is also a beautiful county and all people need to do is get out and sell it. Rather than Bord Fáilte doing all the selling, there is a lot to be said for giving a little money to local organisations and telling them to sell themselves. That might be the answer. Where will the £22 million be spent? In his speech the Minister said that the money will provide tourist offices and signposting. If £5 million was spent on tourist offices this year 50 could be built, that is two for every county. If £1 million worth of signposts were erected they would be all over the place.
That figure is only an increase in the limit which can be spent over the period.
That money also covers the running of the tourist information offices, but these offices have their own income as well. We provide bed and breakfast and we are Bord Fáilte approved as well as being members of other organisations; Bord Fáilte charge a fee. If two people are charged £30 for a room and they book through Bord Fáilte, the proprietor only gets about £26. In a town like Dingle they take in a large amount of money this way every day. Some of the tourist offices are self-sufficient.
It is very easy to sell Ireland. Senator Mooney spoke about angling, and that is only one of the many aspects of Ireland that we can sell. Senator Cashin spoke about our culture, Irish music and archaeology. Many festivals are run to encourage people to come here. We must target the European market more. We are targeting the American market too much. The Americans who come here are pretty big spenders in the craft shops, they bring the dollar with them and take a lot of goods back, but we will attract the American tourists without going overboard to bring them here. Irish Americans come here every couple of years to see the old country and buy the báinín sweater and the cap. We have not hit the European market.
I am sure Senators remember my good friend, Charlie Haughey.
I do.
When he was Taoiseach, he started a campaign to encourage people to holiday at home. At the time I told him he was mad, that the worst thing people could do is to holiday at home and if we all stay in Ireland, people around the world will not find out how loveable the Irish are. I have been proved right. Whenever I go on holidays, people from that area arrive in Dingle a few months later. I make sure I chat with people wherever I go and suggest that they come to Ireland on holiday. We should act as ambassadors for our country.
Crete is many miles away. I brought some Greeks on a visit to this House; they came from Crete. As a matter of fact I started a Fianna Fáil cumann in Greece. The only thing they knew about Ireland was that it was part of England.
Who is the chairman of that cumann?
Papandreous was his name, I think.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach
Senator Fitzgerald, without interruption, please.
The idea of staying at home for the holidays is nice. We will stay at home for our weekends and travel around the country, but we should not tell people to holiday at home. They will do that anyway. We should tell people that when they holiday outside the country they should act as ambassadors for this country. They should sell our country and tell the people what it is like and explain that if people do not support us by coming to Ireland on holidays we might not support them by going abroad.
The weather does not matter. Ireland is Ireland, the weather is beautiful now but it does not matter; we should not be selling the weather. A person who goes to the Swiss Alps expects snow and that the weather will be cold. A person who goes to Russia expects it to be cold. Information on the weather is included in every brochure. A person who goes to Crete or the Canaries knows they will get scorched, and that is what happens. We should be honest about the weather and tell visitors to make provision for rain. With luck, we will have fine weather and if not, too bad.
I welcome the Bill. Every year we get 3.5 million tourists. Soon tourism will be our biggest industry, the industry on which we are most dependent. Sheep subsidies will not last for ever. We will not continue to receive money from Europe forever. Fishing quotas have already been imposed on us. We are at the end of the line. We have our milk quotas but in 25 years much of that will have changed. There will be too much land set aside and we will be restricted.
We should gear ourselves properly for tourism. The industry should not be active for just a couple of months of the year. It should be active all year round because people from different parts of the world go on holidays at different times of the year. In Ireland it is now fashionable to go on holidays in February and March. Why waste the bit of summer we get? People go to the Canaries for Christmas, in January or February. We should encourage people to holiday in Ireland all year round. Already the tourist season has lengthened. It starts at Easter and it used to end about the middle of August but now it lasts well into October. We need more support from Bord Fáilte.
A couple of years ago in Dingle we met four Unionists from Belfast who were collecting money for Concern by sailing around Ireland in a yacht. I am chairman of the harbour board in Dingle and on my suggestion they were well treated, they were not charged harbour dues and so on. They stayed for two or three days and collected a handy bit of money for Concern. When they were going one of them told me he would return the compliment as soon as he could. One of the men was from Campbell Shipping, a company with offices in Dublin and in Belfast. As a result of that chance meeting and our being so kind to them in Dingle, for the last two years they have brought luxury cruisers there. They found it was an ideal place to which to come and this year they have changed the size of their luxury liners so that they can bring them right into the pier. This is a major boost to the town. The first year they came they had to stay outside the harbour and passengers were ferried ashore. They went around Slea Head, did a tour of the town and went back to the boat that night. Now, the luxury liner is tied up in the pier and they can have a major night out in the town. They can go to the Skellig, where the Minister was. I would hate to tell the House where he went.
This will be a big operation. Some 150 people will come off the liner and will stay for probably two days. They will come on a regular basis every fortnight. I say to Senator Howard that the same could happen in Clare. These people do not want to go to the big cities but like to visit smaller towns around the coast. We intend to follow up this. An added advantage is that people from Tralee and Killarney will come to see the liner tied up by the pier, which will also result in money being earned.
I intend to have my boat ready to take people to see Fungi. The rest of Ireland should learn from the cuteness of the way we operate in Dingle. Senator Howard should come to Dingle for a week to watch the way we operate. I asked somebody what will happen when Fungi dies. He said even though "The Islander" is dead for 40 or 50 years and Peig Sayers is dead, the Blasket Islands are more popular now. He said we will take people out to sea and tell them this is where Fungi was born and used to swim. We must think of all these tricks.
I welcome the Bill. We should put down a marker to Bord Fáilte to put up or shut up, because many people are dissatisfied. I would hate to spell out the grievances they have. Established tourist areas such as Kerry and Galway are reasonably all right; but we should select several areas around the country, such as Blacksod, and give them grants and incentives to engage in tourism. Established places like Killarney and Dingle should be left alone and some money should be given to other areas to give them a break.
I welcome the Minister. In the short few months he has been Minister, he has had the opportunity to visit a number of counties and I hope he became aware of a number of problems which are not covered in the Bill.
Will some direction be given to local authorities or to Bord Fáilte about what will be done about unapproved accommodation? Yesterday I received phone calls from two people who provide approved accommodation in my county. For the first time Meath County Council will charge rates on their premises. Heretofore, this may have been the policy in other counties where such businesses have been developed over many years. Under the law, the county council can charge rates on people who are registered and have Bord Fáilte approved signs. However, it can do nothing about unapproved people. A decision to grant second rate approval to these people and to provide money for this is long past time. People who provide unapproved accommodation should be rated in the same way as those providing approved accommodation. People are deciding to take down their Bord Fáilte signs and opt out of the approval register if they are charged rates.
I would like to draw the Minister's attention to disadvantaged counties which have serious problems in that they do not have enough accommodation. From a meeting the Minister attended some weeks ago in Trim, he knows the Dublin tourist industry is feeding off Meath, Wicklow and Kildare. These counties have not had the major investment in hotel accommodation which Dublin has had because there is no need for major investors to invest in them. Is there any possibility that the Minister would ask the Cabinet to consider in the next budget declaring parts of these counties to be disadvantaged and giving incentives to developers to provide badly needed hotel accommodation in these areas?
I draw the Minister's attention to the overall position of the weaker counties as far as tourism is concerned. The counties about which Senator Fitzgerald spoke have been depending on tourism for 25 years and have been successful in selling themselves. Bord Fáilte has done an enormous amount of good work over the years. However, I do not believe a county can be a real success unless it has an organisation up and running to help it sell itself. County tourism boards have been set up and have been in operation for a year or two. I am chairman of the County Meath board. I ask that in the long term a certain amount of money be made available through Bord Fáilte for these boards to help them develop their own tourism markets.
I visited holiday fairs this year in Belfast, Dublin, Cork and Galway. A substantial number of counties were represented, particularly at the Belfast one. This fair provided an opportunity for individuals to ask about where the counties were as against them being told the counties were in the South. As a result, there was a substantial number of inquiries and since then a substantial number of visitors visited the counties which were represented and sold their particular strengths as tourist destinations. I believe tourism companies in counties which are not long established as tourist areas will be successful and will attract a substantial number of tourists into Ireland and from Northern Ireland to the South.
The recent Government decision to include the east coast of County Meath as a designated area for providing incentives for the provision of accommodation is welcome. I know it will have a great bearing on and will be a flagship for the development of tourism in the county in the coming years. I hope that as a result of the decision made by Government, a substantial number of people will become involved in developing different products, including accommodation, which will bring more tourists into the region.
A decision must be taken to deal with the problem of unapproved accommodation and the decision by local authorities looking for extra funds to rate some of the approved accommodation. For as long as I have been in the Houses of the Oireachtas, which is 14 years, every Minister for Tourism has spoken about doing something. It is not easy and no Government, including that which Senator O'Kennedy was part of, would bring forward a proposal to ban all unapproved accommodation.
Having looked at this problem and having taken into consideration the amount of unapproved accommodation throughout the country, I believe there should be a second line of approval. Although unapproved accommodation is excluded and no income comes from it, it has benefited from the increase in visitors as a result of efforts made on behalf of approved accommodation by Bord Fáilte and the tourism companies and the money generated by them. I am not saying that those with approved accommodation are not benefiting. In many counties the surplus goes to unapproved accommodation. We are creating a vacuum by leaving this situation.
As the Minister stated in his speech, 3.68 million people visited last year. More people are visiting because of the excellent work being done by all the agencies, including Bord Fáilte. The Bord Fáilte manager in England, Margaret Cahill, who is from County Meath, told me that if the Prince of Wales visited Ireland, it would be worth £5 million of advertising. Lo and behold, this has happened. I have not been speaking to her since, but I am sure it is much easier to sell Ireland in England than it was heretofore.
We must deal with the problems on the ground; we should not allow them to fester anymore. We should allow local authorities, in conjunction with Bord Fáilte, to visit unapproved accommodation and to ask for a certain amount of money to have a second list. If we do that, tourism companies looking for income to promote County Meath will be able to ask these people for some funds. A few days ago I had a discussion about this at the tourism company meeting in Meath. Even those with approved accommodation believe that something should be done because it is costing them more each day.
Many counties need some incentive for the provision of accommodation. County Meath has 350 bednights while Killarney has 3,500. This puts the situation into perspective. We in County Meath must secure investment by major hoteliers with an interest in tourism. However, this will not happen because of the advantage of setting up in Dublin. Neighbouring counties can be visited by coach each day. We must make an effort in that regard in 1996. We could justify the reintroduction of the business expansion scheme on a limited basis to see if it would work.
As regards the provision of tourism offices, I happen to be a member of Midlands East Regional Tourism, which is strapped for cash. I hope that under the new proposals and with the extra money that will be made available, counties which are only now setting up tourist offices will be given some help from Bord Fáilte or the Department through the Midlands East Regional Tourism to help them to get started and to provide a needed base for the tourism services. I listened with interest to the Minister on the "Pat Kenny Show" yesterday morning. People who asked questions had the same problems which I outlined. In any county, town or village, we find tourists who are not familiar with the area asking the same type of questions. All they want is a friendly reply. An unlimited service should be available at tourist offices helped by Bord Fáilte, especially at this time of the year, in the evening and at weekends so people can receive help and can go about their business.
The Minister should take on board some of those points because we cannot make progress as a country or as individual counties unless an incentive is given. We must make a decision on disadvantaged areas as regards accommodation and on the introduction of the BES in counties like Kildare, Wicklow and Meath and other disadvantaged counties where there are few hotel beds. I spent some time over the past 12 months trying to convince major organisations to develop a hotel in County Meath. Different types of grants are available to those in the Border counties, while Dublin has a wealthy population and people fly directly into Dublin Airport. Those in between are in no man's land. That is how investors decide to site their tourism developments.
Substantial progress has been made in tourism development in many counties over the past few years, especially those with weaker tourism industries. The extension of the Leader programme to all counties will be a major benefit. I have seen the results of ADM and the allocation given to Trim Initiative Development a year or two ago. I have seen the work it was able to achieve and the help it was able to give to tourism projects. I welcome the extension of that into other areas as we reach the closing date for applications.
By the year 2000, with those incentives and with the help and decisions which should be considered in these areas, we could have a thriving industry not only along the coast and in the west, but throughout the country. Counties can help each other. I am delighted that Meath and Kildare have worked together on some projects. We have been successful in putting together a few programmes to help develop tourism in both counties. I look forward to the Minister's response to these requests. Coming from a county which depends largely on tourism, the Minister has an interest in this area. If we go a little further in the type of development I am talking about, we could achieve a further increase in the number of tourists we can bring into the country.
I welcome the Minister on his first visit to the House. I also welcome this Bill, whose purpose I enthusiastically support and endorse. I have a number of reasons for doing so. One is, perhaps, slightly personal. The Minister has been kind enough to remind me that somewhere in the entrance foyer of the Department of Tourism and Trade there is a portrait of, among others, a young O'Kennedy who happened to be Minister for Transport and Power for a short period of four months between 1972 and 1973. I do not know if I should wish that the Minister would have the same experience——
He is there six months now.
I hope his stay in that Department will be longer than mine. I wish him personally, for many reasons, every success in this Department and in other Departments should the Irish people continue to be slightly misled in their preference for Government.
This is an opportunity for all of us to analyse our current priorities. It is an opportunity to support the direction of the Minister's proposals in so far as he seeks to maximise the effort to attract visitors to our country and to ensure that the contribution to our economy, which has been growing significantly in recent years, will not only be maintained but expanded. My observations will be based to a large extent on some of the barriers to maximising that potential.
I have had personal experience of those barriers over the years. I encountered the first during my short stay in the Department of Transport and Power. I immediately became conscious of a conflict of interest between Bord Fáilte and Aer Lingus. The chief executives of both bodies sought to meet me separately and privately with a view to getting their message across. I told each of them that I would meet them but I did not tell them that it was my intention to meet them together. I named the same time and the same venue. Both of them arrived and I was privileged — if that is the word — to be, first, a spectator at a dogfight and subsequently a type of referee. It was quite clear that even in 1972 there were different priorities between the interests representing the promotion of tourism in this economy and the interests representing Aer Lingus and its employees. Unfortunately, I was not in office long enough — the Irish people suffer from occasional aberrations in electoral choice and they did so again in 1973 — and I never had a chance to do what I had intended to do. However, there are conclusions to be drawn and the Minister is moving in the right direction now.
We must establish our priorities for the national economy and the contribution that tourism can and, we hope, will make. That is why I welcome the Minister's proposals. Our first priority must be to encourage and facilitate access to this country. Our country is an island that is located some distance from the great population centres, excluding those in England. It is most important that we make it as easy and as inexpensive as possible for people to visit our country and to get a feeling for our great culture. I must tell my distinguished colleague, Senator Howard, that I felt like a tourist in the lovely Banner County when I was plying my law trade there at the beginning of the week and afterwards when I travelled to Lahinch and along the coast.
The culture of this country as one moves from region to region is one of the most stimulating and reassuring experiences one can have. One can meet the people, talk with them and get a flavour of their values and style. That is one of the great attractions of Ireland. No effort should be spared to maximise and market that attraction. The attraction of Ireland is the fact that we have time for people and we want to help them. I am not saying that we are greater than other people but in normal personal relationships the Irish — whether one meets them on the road, in a pub, at a hurling or football match or wherever — are anxious to help and please the visitor. That is the general response one receives from people who have had the happy privilege of spending their holidays here.
The first thing we must do to ensure that we maximise that potential is to remove any barriers — and they exist — to access to this country. I can illustrate one or two such barriers from my own experience. Belgium is not noted for being a golfing Mecca; there are about eight golf courses there. The Minister, being a golfer, will understand what I mean. When I was in Brussels, I recall seeing Japanese tourists going from one course to another, getting out of their limousines, bowing to the caddy master and asking if they could play. In almost all cases the caddy master had to tell them: “Non, c'est impossible, c'est tout plein”: it is not possible, it is full. The Japanese would bow and travel to the next course. Meanwhile, back in Ireland I did not see sight nor light, as they say in the country, of one Japanese. Mind you, they are slow on the golf course — one would want to get out there before them. However, this is an area of huge potential.
When I returned I asked the then chief executive of Bord Fáilte about it and I discovered — and this pattern has existed for years — that Ireland was the only country whose national flag carrier, Aer Lingus, was not part of what is called a common fare rating from distant locations. That is unforgivable. Basically, if one were making a long distance booking in Tokyo, Yokohama, Melbourne or Sydney to travel to London, Paris, Berlin or Rome, under the common fare rating one could book to travel onwards to any other country within at least a 500 mile radius and more for the same price. There was one exception — one could not book to travel onward to Ireland. Once the tourist landed in Paris or Brussels or London Aer Lingus was going to have a slice of whatever one had to pay to travel further. There have been minimal changes in that respect in the meantime but not nearly enough to remove that barrier.
I have nothing but respect for the thousands of workers employed in Aer Lingus. However, when one looks at the potential that could be realised one sees that it, as distinct from the protective approach, will actually secure their employment. I hope the Minister will get the full support of his colleagues — which I always expressed in Government although I was not involved in that area subsequently — to open access to this country on every possible occasion through every possible facility. People will tell one that the rates being charged by Aer Lingus on some of the busiest lines out of Europe are absolutely astronomical. That is not acceptable. It is not good enough that a company which has a guaranteed market should increase the prices in that market. There is no justification for that. I hope that dealing with this issue will not result in restrictions in the future, as was the case in the past. I am referring to increased fares and special monopoly lines that enable one company to secure itself at the expense of national development. That is not acceptable in this day and age.
I am happy to see Bord Fáilte focusing on marketing. Believe me, it has a product to sell. Why do we want to visit other countries? We want to visit because they are different from what we experience in the normal course of events. If we do not have the wonderful weather we have at present, we want to feel some heat in our bones. We want to visit ancient historic sites in other countries such as Greece and Turkey. We want to play golf in different conditions. We want to speak French or Italian if we are interested in that. We want to sample their wine and cheese. We want to do all the things that are characteristic of those countries and that make us feel we have been in a different place and culture and that we can relax. We have so much of this that they want to come here.
Perhaps of all the countries in Europe, Ireland is unique at present in a number of areas. There are fewer of us, which is perhaps just as well. A Dutch colleague of mine on the EU Council of Ministers used to tell me that if we lived in Holland we would have been poisoned years ago, whereas it was easy to imagine how the Dutch could have enjoyed themselves if they lived in Ireland. The only response I could make was that visitors to Ireland would not have enjoyed themselves as much if they were there. We must protect the precious asset we have in our environment, given that it is such a big factor in what attracts people to Ireland. Even if the Minister's programme succeeds, Bord Fáilte can only sell the product. We must ensure that the product is right and that we do nothing to spoil it.
Visitors do not come here for the weather. Some visitors will be disappointed today because they came to avail of the bracing Atlantic breeze. I know some who love Ireland, have written about it and who spend all of their holidays here who think of that beautifully fresh, bracing breeze and the soft mist along the west coast. This does not attract us. I do not suggest that tourists will turn us down because of the present weather. The weather is not a problem, apart from the need for facilities for young people in bad weather. In this respect Bord Fáilte, together with the other authorities, are doing much to remedy that problem.
There are a number of other factors we must consider. If we look at ourselves we will be presented with some problems. Visitors come here for peace, quiet and relaxation. They do not want problems of any kind that will cause tension, much less injury or loss. We must recognise that while it is a problem in many parts of the world, the crime problem in the country and in the cities is serious in terms of tourism. I know people who are much travelled who have written off more than three quarters of the globe, because they would not put themselves or their families at risk. Fortunately, despite what we would rightly consider to be serious problems, we are still relatively crime free. Given the network of smaller communities, villages and towns, with so many other Irish people meeting visitors and advising them accordingly, people know that it is harder to get involved in undercover crime.
All of the conditions which bring about social problems are part of an overall package which we should consider in terms not only of solving the problems, but of being of vital importance with regard to our national economic development, especially to this industry. In this respect the attitudes we hold in Ireland are looked to by other countries. These include our values and our family stability. Visitors value the feelings of security they derive from Irish homes. The happiness they feel comes from the Irish people and aspects of society that are different here than in other places. I do not suggest that others do not have these features also. For example, because I fortunately speak Italian, there is nothing I enjoy as much as visiting an Italian family and enjoying their food and chat. Andiamo a casa. It is a beautiful experience. They bring one into their homes. It is special with us also. We must be conscious that in all our policies we must not allow ourselves to follow the road that has already been proven to give rise, not to predictable but to certain known consequences in other countries.
In terms of dealing with the crime problem, the approach of Singapore, which I have visited, is one extreme. It is trouble free and completely clean because it has a very rigid, authoritarian regime. If one steps across the line one will know about it, even as a tourist. Perhaps there is a case for more intervention on the part of the police authorities, but I do not suggest that it should go quite as far as Singapore. Nevertheless, visitors can go to that country in the confident knowledge that it is safe to do so and that nobody will interfere with their property or money.
We must be aware that family life in Ireland is a special attraction. I know this because I have met and worked with people around the world who, when they think of Ireland, think of a happy, stable society and a happy, secure people. We should, therefore, be very cautious and careful before we change the total direction of our social mores in view of the impact such changes could have on these matters. People do not want to visit this country to experience more of what they know already in their own places.
Every country has its own culture, and culture is not only language and music. It is wonderful that Irish music, song and dance and all that expresses our vitality, imagination, unpredictability — all that expresses the Irish character — is so much loved and enjoyed all around the world. Our ambassadors of music and song and our ambassadors in terms of our football supporters — I was with them, happily, on some occasions — are irreplaceable. Bord Fáilte is lucky to have this to build on. People want to visit to experience it on the ground, whether it is in Doolin, Kerry or wherever. Some time ago, after we played in a football match in Stuttgart, I heard a Dub on "Morning Ireland" say that the Government should subsidise the soccer supporters as they were doing more for tourism than anybody else. He went on to remark that if they were subsidised there would be flocks of visitors to the country. Everybody laughed, but he was right.
After we were beaten in the World Cup in Italy I listened to Italian commentators on their radio and television because I know, love and speak the language. The fact that Italy won the match by a freak goal against us made us even happier. That evening every commentator spoke of questo sportive Irlandesi, these wonderful, sporting Irish, these happy Irish. They then realised that I was one of the Irish and I made a contribution on a radio chat show. The participation of Ireland in the World Cup in Italy made a huge impact on that country. It led to the growth in the number of Italian tourists to Ireland. When they visit us they can relax because they find that we are somewhat like them. This is a great compliment because they are a wonderfully civilised people. They do not move in droves or on package holidays. They are also big spenders. It is often said of the Milanese that i piu grandiosi d'Europa, they are the big spenders of Europe. They are wealthy and they spend their wealth. We should continue to acknowledge the way in which Ireland has been promoted by our soccer supporters.
Promotion by word of mouth is, in itself, perhaps more important than anything else. When visitors return to their countries they promote for us and become our sales representatives. In this respect, if the product is not right we have the responsibility to rectify some aspects. An example is the pollution on our lakes and rivers. It is regrettable that the farm pollution grants have been suspended. This is a retrograde step and I can see the effects on my beloved Lough Derg. The anglers have moved to the Minister's area. He must be pleased about it.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach
I take it Senator, that you will be discussing this matter this evening.
I know the Minister would not want anglers to visit his area at the expense of Lough Derg. We are allowing the precious asset of water quality to be polluted. It is the responsibility both of local authorities and of Government. The process did not begin with the present Government. Hopefully, in whatever review takes place we will make it clear that we will ensure that these precious assets will be preserved for everybody to enjoy.
In conclusion, I want to pay tribute to Bord Fáilte for what they have achieved. I do not always agree with them in some areas. I note they will no longer be dealing directly with "Tidy Towns". I hope someone else will assume that responsibility and the responsibility for standards and grading which Bord Fáilte has fulfilled in the past. The growth of tourism to 7 per cent of an increased GNP in 1993 is only the beginning. The potential in this area is enormous with the peace process underway. I wish the Minister nothing but good luck. Jack Lynch used to say that the important thing in politics is to be at the right corner of the right street at the right time. Deputy Kenny is at that corner at the right time. With that wind behind him he will probably go through more Ministeries and enjoy more success than I have since 1972.
Senators have made quite a number of contributions in relation to the Bill. The points raised were also raised by members of the public and during the course of the Dáil debate. I will deal with these points as best I can.
I believe I told Senator O'Kennedy that his picture does adorn the long hallway in the Department of Tourism and Trade, which used to be the Department of Transport and Power.
I like the word "adorn".
It hangs at centre stage. The Senator made a number of very relevant points. I want to refer in particular to the issue of crime and the fact that the product should be right. The Senator raised seven or eight serious points in this regard.
The recent case of Catriona McCormack, the Australian girl who was attacked in Galway, was a completely isolated and very unfortunate incident. She received a large number of stitches in a wound suffered during an attack. I have dealt with this in the Dáil at some length by way of parliamentary questions. We have given the Victim Support Group in Dublin £10,000 to continue their work. They have received assistance from Dublin Tourism and a number of other bodies. Ms McCormack herself stated that a person could travel in many countries where this might happen. The fact is that the ratio is about one to 150,000 of visitors to Ireland who actually experience a crime involving violence. There are other cases where petty crime, theft and bag snatching take place.
We cannot stress strongly enough, in promoting Ireland abroad, that tourists must be careful when they visit this country because we are competing with other countries where the standard and rate of crime is much higher than in Ireland. People should take reasonable precautions wherever they travel. If they visit a city like Dublin they should take the normal precautions they would take in any other city in the world of similar size.
Senator McGowan was very critical of the role of Bord Fáilte. I do not share many of his views. It is fair to say that Bord Fáilte, like any other organisation, has had its weaknesses and failings, but it has also had a great many strengths throughout the years. The whole thrust of this change in legislation is to give effect to building on the strength and foundation that Bord Fáilte has and to allow it to address its fundamental core function, which is to market Ireland internationally. I agree with those who said that we are at a critical time in the development of our tourism industry. It is an area of great potential and one with which I am very happy to be associated. I share the Senator's view that anything we do should be done in terms of quality. That thread should run through everything which applies to the tourism industry — on the fringes, in the centre or in whatever capacity.
Senator McGowan also referred to the increased statutory limit from £18 million to £22 million under the Bill. This is an enabling provision and refers to capital purposes only. It does not refer to accomodation or Bord Fáilte's administrative expenditure which is covered under another heading and another Vote. It covers capital expenditure by the regional tourism organisations for tourist information offices, etc.
I share the Senator's view about the importance of the regional tourism offices and organisations. I recently met the chairmen and managers of the RTOs and we had a long and interesting conversation. I took careful note of the points raised and concerns expressed. I would love to have sufficient funds to provide money for every project they mentioned. The reality is that funds are always limited. I must stress again that quality applications will be supported because that is the kind of tourism we want. I have no intention of turning this country into a destination for mass tourism or one large theme park. We are concerned with promoting Ireland to as many discerning, quality tourists as possible who value the country for what it is by coming here. I announced at that meeting that I was making a special allocation of £50,000 this year to assist with the marketing work of the county tourism committees. These committees had no funding at all and were merely a voice in the wilderness. While it is not a great amount of money, it is a recognition of the experience that many people have had. It will allow them to carry out some small works in that capacity.
The regional tourism organisations have an important role in the allocation of European Union funds under the Tourism 2000 Operational Programme. All product development applications are filtered through the regional tourism organisations, who make recommendations to Bord Fáilte for funding. It is important that Senators and people in general understand that applications for all product developments are structured through the regional tourism organisations and then go to Bord Fáilte for evaluation. They are finally determined by an independent product management board with an independent chairman. There are £370 million of European Union grants available under that programme to a whole range of activities from marketing to training to additional tourist attractions and facilities.
Senators will be aware that assistance for smaller projects is often provided through the county enterprise boards and the Leader projects. If people look at any of the Leader reports they will see a range of activities under crafts, community development, etc., that have been assisted to varying degrees by the Leader boards. Senators will also be aware of the loan subsidy schemes and tax incentives, such as the pilot renewal scheme for resort towns mentioned by Senator Howard. It is fair to say that there is not much life around many of our traditional seaside resorts on a wet October day. The intention in this pilot scheme is to allow local initiative and local investment to flourish and to improve the quality of shopfronts, the bed accomodation base, toilets and the general look and quality of what is on offer in many of these places. They will, therefore, present that quality product to which Senator O'Kennedy referred.
Senator Howard spoke about accountability to the industry by Bord Fáilte. The Senator is quite correct in his view on this issue. Accountability is one of the hallmarks of what we are attempting to do.
One of the central elements in the ADL report was to bring about a change in the culture of Bord Fáilte. The Senator spoke about smugness, aloofness, etc. I suppose in any organisation that has been in existence for a great number of years, this perception can come about. The change envisaged here has resulted in up to 70 personnel accepting the voluntary severance package. I am making everybody aware that a new Bord Fáilte is now in place. It is leaner, more determined, it has a more concentrated focus and its activities do not cover the broad range of issues in which it was unnecessary for the board to become involved. That was the reason for the change in emphasis and the change, through legislation, allowing the board to subcontract out those unnecessary elements of its work, such as the initial stages of inspection and so on.
I thank the director, the chairman, the board and the staff for being patient in respect of these changes but, essentially, the message I want to send out about Bord Fáilte is that there is a new regime in place. There is an awareness that Bord Fáilte has a newer, more relevant, more focused job to do. That is why we appointed an international marketing director with a superb track record in product marketing. We will be giving him assistance through the appointment of experienced marketing people to help sell our country abroad. It will then be a matter for the regional tourist organisations and the industry. Tourists are not going to come here unless they know about the place and understand its qualities, value and the friendliness of which Senator Fitzgerald and Senator Howard spoke.
I strongly believe in working closely with the industry. It is for that reason that I chair the National Tourism Council. This a body of voluntary people who are involved across the broad range of the industry together with the director general and the chairman of Bord Fáilte and representatives from my Department. The group has a very good working relationship and if people in the tourism industry are concerned, it can bring those matters to my attention as Minister and as chairman, to the attention of my officials and Bord Fáilte. All matters relevant to the ADL report were discussed at the National Tourism Council at considerable length and members of that council have the opportunity to discuss any concerns they might have with Bord Fáilte, myself and the Department.
Senator Howard also rightly mentioned the perception abroad that certain areas of the country are doing better or worse than others. The Dublin area is growing very quickly in terms of being a location for weekend breaks, short holidays and second holidays, particularly for Britain. In that context, for a variety of reasons it has replaced France — and Paris — for weekend breaks and weekend occasions.
I will give some of the figures in respect of 1994 so that Senators will have an idea of the regional spread of tourism. For instance, 1.768 million tourists visited the Dublin area in 1994; in the south-west, there were 1.071 million; the mid-west had 807,000 tourists; the west had 902,000 tourists and the north-west had 498,000. For other areas outside Dublin the total was over 3.278 million tourists. The figures to May 1995 are up by 17 per cent, in other words, there are more visitors this year than last. One of the reasons this perception is abroad is that areas that traditionally did not market themselves are now providing a greater range of facilities and locations to visiting tourists. This is healthy competition because the more discerning visitors come here, the more locations they have to visit and the broader the appeal of Ireland and its people.
Senator O'Kennedy spoke of the value of the Irish personality and character and its attraction to foreign visitors. As Senator Fitzgerald pointed out, you can have sunshine and scenery in any country — the weather we have had for the last ten days has been a God given bonus. Ireland ranks No. 9 in European travellers' order of priorities but it ranks No. 1 in terms of non-sun destinations. The majority of our visitors do not come for the sunshine but for a variety of other reasons; 80 per cent want to involve themselves with Irish culture, the people, the tradition and the language. If we are blessed with fine weather on top of that, it is a bonus.
Senator Henry spoke about the promotion of all Ireland holidays. We are very proud of building on the foundation of the peace process. I have had a number of meetings with my colleague, the Minister for Economic Development in Northern Ireland, Baroness Denton, and there is now a very close working relationship between the two tourist boards — Bord Fáilte and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. In fact, I had the pleasure of inviting the chief executive of the NITB to the United States for the St. Patrick's Day celebrations this year and the NITB is also a full partner in the Overseas Tourism Marketing Initiative. If Senators saw the picture postcards shown during the intervals of the Eurovision Song Contest, they would have noted that several parts of Northern Ireland were also shown in that presentation to the 300 million viewers.
British Airways sent out 1.5 million brochures of the island of Ireland, north and south, this year to 750,000 of their consumers in North America and 32,000 travel agents. In terms of access, BA flies 600,000 people from California to Great Britain every year. Many of these people have never heard of Ireland. One of our problems has been that we have assumed everybody knows about us when, in fact, they do not, but many more of them will know about Ireland from now on.
President Clinton's trade and investment initiative and his call to corporate America to invest in Ireland, because it is a good commercially viable place in which to invest, followed by the internationally recognised visit of His Royal Highness. Prince Charles — and the fact that he was welcomed and that it was safe to come here — will have an impact on the average English person who might not have wanted to come here over the past 25 years. That will now change and the British market will be more important to us as a result.
We are spending £6.3 million marketing Ireland overseas and I do not want anybody to run away with the idea that all this marketing is going into North America. That is not the case. Our biggest market is Great Britain. We will get over 2 million visitors from Britain this year; we will exceed 1 million visitors from continental Europe and, for the first time ever, we will get 500,000 visitors or more from North America. The remainder will come from other countries. It is fair to say Bord Fáilte is acutely aware of the market on which we should concentrate and this is being done.
I was also glad to hear Senator Henry's remarks on restaurant licences. In the context of the review of standards in respect of certified restaurants I will have her claim examined. She also mentioned the Tidy Towns competition. Since the Department of the Environment has taken responsibility for the competition, there has been an increased number of applications to participate. This is of importance to us all. Local authorities are now investing in upgrading approaches to small towns and villages and there is an awareness of a greater community spirit and a pride in our rural areas, counties and regions.
The litter problem has been a concern of mine over the years. It requires not only assistance from local authorities but it is a matter of personal pride. I would appeal to every parent of every school child in the country to encourage them to bring their rubbish home with them from wherever they go. This country belongs to everybody. It will be here long after us and it behoves us all to see that we leave this place in as good if not better condition than we found it.
The Tidy Towns competition fits in well with the responsibilities of the Department of the Environment in terms of the protection of the environment and the anti-litter campaign. I am convinced this competition will go from strength to strength.
Senator Mooney referred to the tourist numbers. I do not want to turn Ireland into a mass tourism destination. We value everybody who comes here and it is important that every visitor would be well treated and given VIP standing as valued personalities. I commend Senator Howard for losing on the transaction in the changing of money from sterling. I am sure the visitors enjoyed the hospitality of his hostelry for some considerable time.
Under the operational programme there are a number of grant incentives which are targeted to encourage a greater spread and diversity of tourists, in other words, there is no intention on the part of Bord Fáilte or the industry to attempt to bring tourists or visitors to one location only. We would like to see them spread over as many areas as possible and avail of as many diverse tourist attractions as possible.
I note Senator Henry's remarks in respect of the registration and grading contractor. Senator Mooney also mentioned his concerns in this regard. The tendering procedure was absolutely above board and open. I assure the House it will be of prime importance that a quality product, quality management systems and an efficient professional operation be put in place. That will be done.
There is a clause whereby Bord Fáilte can review the performance on a yearly basis, withdraw it if necessary and the contract is for a five year period. I do not expect that to happen. A first class, "red hot" system of inspections and gradings will be put in place. Senators should also note there is no change in the appeals mechanism. If an inspection in respect of grading or classification takes place under the new subcontractor and the recommendation is that the premises be deregistered, an appeals system is set in motion and Bord Fáilte retains the final say in that appeal. In that context, no changes are being introduced under this legislation.
The tourist industry need have no fears in that what is involved here is the initial inspection process by the subcontractor. If, following that process, in the opinion of the board the premises should be deregistered, it is a matter under the appeals system for Bord Fáilte and, ultimately, the board of Bord Fáilte to make the final decision. This happens in very few cases. I hope the trend will be in the other direction and everybody involved in this business would understand that it is now the third most important industry in Ireland. It is growing in importance; it employs 90,000 people and it is one of the foundations for the strength of our economy in the years ahead.
A number of points were made in respect of unapproved accommodation and the unapproved bed and breakfast sector. A number of Governments have attempted over the years to deal with this matter and it cannot be dealt with by compulsion or mandatory licence. In many cases bed and breakfasts do not come into operation until families are reared, children have left home and spare rooms are available. They may then be used when social events, football matches or rock concerts, take place in the vicinity and accommodation is needed. In that context, bed and breakfasts may come into operation.
I have made it clear on a number of occasions that I do not propose to introduce a compulsory licence system. We would all like to have in place a system where everybody operates in a fair environment. Under the new specially designated tourist resorts scheme, where unapproved bed and breakfasts are operating and the proprietors wish to avail of the tax incentives, they may do so on becoming registered. Such encouragement and coaxing is better than sending somebody on false pretences to book in for the night, check if their stay and payment was registered and, if not, report it to the Revenue Commissioners. In many cases such bed and breakfasts might only operate for two or three weeks in the summer or on particular occasions.
Taking all those factors into account mandatory policing is not the best approach. My bottom line is that I would like to see these people encouraged to move into the registered sector so they can be part of the official brochures and marketing and, in respect of the designated areas, so they can avail of the tax incentives.
I note the good case Senator Reynolds made with regard to bed and breakfast standards. I do not want to lower the standards because quality is of critical importance. However, I will be carrying out a review of the regulations and I will examine the point he made about doors in some of these houses.
Senator Fitzgerald raised concerns about the bed and breakfast standards and told us of his involvement in this area in 1972. I hope he has done well since then. He referred to the minimum number of rooms. I will look at that in the review of regulations and standards we are carrying out. He also spoke about the need to attract continental visitors and I agree with him. This year we expect to have over a million visitors from continental Europe as distinct from Great Britain. This is the first time we will pass the one million mark.
He rightly referred to our musicians, sports people and everybody else who is an ambassador for Ireland, all of whom have a part to play. They create a perception and awareness of Ireland's unique character. If we travel to any of the continental countries and visit the Irish public houses, we see that young people in particular are very attracted to Irish culture, music and traditions. The phenomenon of Riverdance, which has taken off internationally, is an expression of something we have had for hundreds of years but is presented in a very modern way. It is a presentation of our personality and the kind of people we are. It is not just a fine piece of music and dance but an expression of Irishness with which people wish to be associated.
With regard to what Senator O'Kennedy said, it is the people who make up our quality tourism. We are not trying to market a manufactured business where people say they have come to Ireland and "done that". When visitors leaving the country are asked what they remember about Ireland, they say their involvement with the people. I share the Senator's view in that respect.
Senator O'Kennedy referred to access to Ireland. Obviously, as an island, a visitor can come to Ireland only by air or by sea. I have had discussions with my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, in respect of access and capacity on the north Atlantic air route. We are sensitive to the position of Shannon as regards access to the west and midwest. I used the occasion of President Clinton's Washington conference some weeks ago to make clear that if airlines in the United States are interested in providing scheduled flights into Ireland, we would be prepared to encourage that and discuss the issue with them as a Government. Of course, it is possible to have any amount of charter flights into Ireland and, in that context, this year there are 184,000 charter flight seats available from Europe into Ireland, as against 137,000 seats last year. Many of these are flying into Farranfore, Galway, Knock and to other places where they would not traditionally have flown. That is to be encouraged because it gets more quality tourists into the regions where they can go walking, orienteering, engage in equestrian sports or cruise on the Shannon. All these are important.
I respect Senator O'Kennedy's view on the promotion of golf holidays in Ireland in Japan and other countries. It should be noted that the perception of golf has changed radically in the last number of years. It is no longer a sport for the elite but is becoming a leisure activity for everybody. We have 250 golf courses in Ireland and we have invested more than £200 million in this sport in the last ten years. This level of investment is continuing. My target to the end of 1999 is to increase the number of golfing visitors from 170,000 to 300,000 per annum. At present, these people spend about £60 million a year, which is important for our economy, and that will increase. There are a number of specialist operators moving into the business of branding Irish golf in a big way.
Many people tend to forget that we are internationally recognised as having four or five of the best links golf courses in the world. The difference between our courses and those in America is that one can play all the Irish courses. None of them is so exclusive that the average punter cannot play. While that happens in other countries, it does not happen here. It is now possible for Americans and other international visitors to prebook their golfing holidays, North and South; this did not apply previously.
I am aware of the intense interest of the Japanese and sporting people in golf but the problem is that we are so far from Japan. The Japanese ethos is that they take five days holidays in the year and one has to structure packages around that. It takes about 14 hours to fly here and the same amount of time going home and the holiday package has to be structured around a short time. Japanese businesses which have been established in Ireland for a number of years know the value of what we have and, to a limited extent, they bring their visitors here.
Senator O'Kennedy also mentioned access in respect of common rating. This is an important concept in that, when booking a flight from an international location to London or wherever, one should get to Ireland for the same price. This is important and we have made some progress in this area. The common rating programme was extended to flights from Australia. British Airways and Qantas Airways have done this since 1988 and it has now been extended to Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Air France. In addition, Qantas common rate Cork and Shannon Airports from Australia. For instance, if one is flying from Australia by any of those airlines, it is possible to fly to Cork and Shannon for the same price. We have already begun talks with Gulf Air and South African Airlines on common rating and this year we hope to extend this to other areas in south-east Asia such as Hong Kong and Singapore. In the US market, a special arrangement with British Airways and CIÉ Tours to market Ireland over London has resulted in British Airways including Ireland in its US brochures — I referred to this already — as a holiday destination from 17 US gateways.
Senator Fitzgerald mentioned the cruise liner business. I recently had cause to go to Waterford on the arrival of the fiftieth cruise liner there — the Maasdam— which is the tenth biggest ship of its type in the world and carries 1,200 passengers, 900 of whom disembarked that day and went on a variety of quality day tours to the Waterford Crystal factory and to engage in other leisure activities. Their average spend was quite high; and it is expected to have 40 cruise liners docking there next year and we want to build on that. This area has huge potential. These cruise liners operate in northern and southern Europe and people can embark at various locations. It was through the initiative of two local people in Waterford that this began some years ago and it has shown enormous potential and great growth. There is to be significant investment to build a proper and exclusive landing pier in Waterford to cater for these massive liners. That is an area in which others can get involved.
In respect of brand Ireland, the international marketing director of Bord Fáilte is looking at building on the initial consultant's report. Ireland means something different to everybody. By trying to draw a thread through all these different opinions, we are trying to present the country in a modern, realistic and practical light.
That deals with most of the points raised by the Senators. I thank them for the interest. My target for the tourism industry is to create a further 35,000 jobs by the end of 1999, which will bring about a total spend of about £2.25 billion per year and would involve the employment of 120,000 people on a permanent basis. This is only one of a range of policies being put in place to support the continued development of tourism in Ireland and I know it will have the support of all sides of the House in this regard. I advise people in the industry to take up the words of many of the Senators. If there are complaints, there is a procedure for dealing with them, either through the regional tourist offices, through Bord Fáilte directly or through my Department. It is my responsibility as Minister for Tourism and Transport to lay down policy guidelines for tourism. I want the industry to respond to that. I want to ensure that genuine visitors to our country are not being ripped off or getting services of inferior quality. That is not the market we are in. We are looking for top quality visitors and they, in turn, deserve top quality service and a top quality range of facilities. In so far as we can assist through the judicious expenditure of European Union funds, that is my aim. I know Senators understand and fully support that.
Question put and agreed to.
Agreed to take remaining Stages today.