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Seanad Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 8 Nov 2001

Vol. 168 No. 11

Tourism Industry: Statements.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House to hear the statements on tourism.

I welcome the opportunity to address the Members of Seanad Éireann on the impact on tourism of the recent tragic terrorist attacks in the United States. The Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Deputy McDaid, regrets he is not in a position to attend this debate as he has been fulfilling important functions in Belfast arising from the work of the North-South Tourism Ministerial Council, which met yesterday.

It is not long since the Minister addressed this House on the threat to tourism of foot and mouth disease. We regarded that development as unprecedented in the context of the recent successful development of the tourism sector which has seen uninterrupted growth over the past nine years. It was a very difficult challenge, but through a series of measures and actions which the Department and tourism State agencies carried out in full consultation with the industry we rose to the challenge and met it head on.

The latest official CSO tourism and travel statistics published at the end of September show that earnings from overseas visitors during the first half of 2001 increased by 3.8% to £1.3 billion –€1.65 billion – on the same period last year. However, overall earnings for the first half of 2001 were down 5.2% to £2.7 million with the slowdown being most acute in the case of visitors from Britain and North America. Bord Fáilte's original estimate for 2001 was for an increase of 5% in overall visitor numbers, although that estimate had been revised significantly downwards due to the impact of foot and mouth disease. Ironically, tourism was beginning to show signs of recovery from this setback. This was mainly due to the early lifting of the major foot and mouth disease restrictions in line with expert technical advice. There was also a very beneficial impact arising from the targeted £10 million –€12.69 million – international and domestic tourism marketing reassurance campaign designed by Bord Fáilte in consultation with the industry and for which the Minister secured Exchequer funding. That money is still making an impact. For instance, in the last quarter of this year Bord Fáilte will spend in excess of £1 million –€1.27 million – more on the British market over that spent in the same period last year.

The tragic events of 11 September represent a serious blow to the recovery of tourism and they have already had a profound impact on international travel and tourism. Unlike the foot and mouth disease emergency, over which we had some control at national level, the current crisis is a truly global one with worldwide repercussions. There are no official estimates yet available in relation to the loss of tourism business from the USA and elsewhere arising from the terrorist attacks. While there are many reports of cancellations from individual businesses and operators, it is probably too early to assess the final overall impact on international travel and holiday patterns. What is clear, however, is that recent developments will significantly impact on visitor numbers, in particular from America, for the balance of this year and into 2002. This will be the first annual decline in visitor numbers for close to a decade. The latest estimate from Bord Fáilte is that visitor numbers could be down by between 6.5% and 10% this year.

Since 11 September, the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation and officials from his Department have been in regular contact with senior management in Bord Fáilte and Tourism Ireland Limited, which is the new North-South tourism marketing company established under the Good Friday Agreement. We have taken stock of the situation and put arrangements in place to ensure marketing strategies are developed to deal with the fall-out from the recent atrocities over the remainder of this year's season and for 2002. Critical factors in doing that will include not only the nature and duration of the response to the terrorist attacks, but also the speed with which public confidence in air travel can be restored.

The Minister also met a high level delegation from the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation, led by its chairman, Tony Kelly, on 25 September and 31 October. Following our contacts, Bord Fáilte and Tourism Ireland Limited confirmed that they would urgently re-examine, in consultation with the tourism industry and through the tourism marketing partnership structure, their respective marketing programmes and plans for the remainder of 2001 and for 2002. Bord Fáilte subsequently announced details of a £750,000 –€952,500 – programme of additional immediate measures for the British, Irish, French and German markets. Comprehensive details of their full £3.5 million –€4.4 million – autumn programme have recently been circulated to the trade, other interested parties and Members of both Houses of the Oireachtas.

The new chief executive of Tourism Ireland Limited, Mr. Paul O'Toole, spearheaded the review of marketing plans for 2002. That process culminated in the launch yesterday in Dublin and Belfast of marketing plans for 2002 and details of a new and exciting television and print inter national advertising campaign for the island of Ireland at a cost of over £5 million –€6.35 million. The plans for 2002 will have to be flexible to take account of the changing circumstances arising from the events of 11 September. The Minister attaches particular importance to the partnership approach with industry. There has been extensive consultation, including two meetings of the tourism marketing partnership, in the drawing up of the plans launched yesterday by Tourism Ireland Limited. It is worth recalling that the Exchequer budget for tourism this year will be close to £90 million –€114 million – the lion's share of which is allocated for tourism marketing agencies and activities.

When the Minister met the ITIC delegation, one of their key priorities was that Tourism Ireland Limited, the new all-Ireland tourism marketing body, would be fully operational in time for the 2002 marketing season. I am glad to confirm that Tourism Ireland Limited is fully on track to take over responsibility for international tourism marketing activity on an all-Ireland basis next year. The company's marketing plans for 2002 and its new media and print advertising campaign were launched to the media and the trade in Dublin and Belfast yesterday. New fulfilment literature and market books have been prepared and will be available for the first time ever on an all-Ireland basis. Following a meeting the Minister had with Bord Fáilte and trade unions, plans are in train for the transfer of staff by the end of November. The process of directly recruiting a number of key additional staff members is also well advanced.

The Minister has every confidence in the board of Tourism Ireland Limited and its new chief executive. He believes the establishment of the company offers us a unique opportunity to inject a new dynamism into our tourism marketing effort. The welcome breakthrough in the peace process over the past few days gives grounds for further optimism. The new company will have a programme budget of £21 million –€27 million – for 2002 which will be supplemented by niche and product marketing funding from Bord Fáilte and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.

The Government is very conscious of the important link between competitive air and sea access and tourism flows. The tourism industry cannot function if we are not in a position to get our visitors here on competitive terms from our key source markets. We are particularly well served by the levels of investment in recent years in sea access, which has seen the emergence of a high quality and competitive route network, particularly across the Irish Sea. We are acutely aware of the important contribution Aer Lingus has made to developing tourism traffic over the years, most recently through the extension of its transatlantic network.

The priority from a tourism perspective, there fore, is the maintenance, as part of the survival plan for the airline, of as much of the pre-11 September service network as possible entering the 2002 season. The Department has been working closely with the Department of Public Enterprise to safeguard as much of the route infrastructure as possible so that, when the recovery comes, we are best placed to avail of it. Let us hope that the Government's efforts in helping to find a solution to the serious difficulties facing Aer Lingus can be brought to a successful conclusion as speedily as possible.

The Government is also anxious to promote new air route development, particularly with regard to the large continental European market which has not performed up to expectations in recent years. We welcome the recent announcement that Aer Rianta has expanded its incentive scheme for new routes to Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports. We need the maximum degree of flexibility with regard to the operation of this scheme to make it effective. An interdepartmental group, under the chairmanship of the Department of the Taoiseach, has been established to examine the interaction between access transport, particularly by air, and tourism with a view to identifying further possibilities for encouraging and generating additional travel and increasing the flow of visitors to Ireland. That work is advancing and we hope there will be a positive outcome.

The Government has allocated significant funding towards tourism development since it came into office. Under the national development plan, we have earmarked over £350 million for product, marketing and human resources development. We have established the first ever multi-annual tourism marketing fund, with a commitment of £150 million over seven years, notwithstanding the fact that no EU money was available for that activity under the current round of EU Structural Funds. This is funding on an unprecedented scale and on the level requested by the industry. The Minister secured additional marketing funding of £10 million in last year's budget for sectoral and niche marketing and a further £7 million to finance the foot and mouth disease reassurance campaign.

This year, as I have said, the total Exchequer tourism budget is in the order of £90 million. We have to ensure that this funding is used in the most effective manner to help address the real development needs of the industry to sustain foreign revenue earnings and employment levels.

Given the more challenging environment we are now facing, the Minister believes that it is vitally important to quickly bed down the process of institutional change now under way in the tourism state agencies, which have remained unchanged in structure since the early 1960s. As I said, it is important to complete the start-up of Tourism Ireland Limited so that it will be fully operational for the 2002 marketing season.

The Minister also welcomes the support of the council of CERT and the board of Bord Fáilte for the proposed creation of a new national integrated tourism development authority. I am glad this initiative also has the support of industry. The Minister will be asking the Government very shortly for approval to proceed with the creation of the new body, which will require new legislation. The objective is to have strong structures in place to implement our medium-term plans for international marketing, product and human resource development, as contained in the national development plan, to help the tourism industry to meet the challenges that lie ahead.

It is understood that the tourism industry itself will have to work its way through the present difficulties. The industry has matured greatly in recent years and has built up a tremendous product base, which makes Ireland a very attractive international tourist destination. We welcome the response of many businesses in the sector that are already readjusting the marketing and pricing strategies to secure extra businesses in the current difficult climate. We must maintain competitiveness and keep prices as attractive as possible.

I am confident that the recent attractively priced offers from the air and sea carriers, accommodation providers and others will begin the process of working our way out of the current problems. The Irish people can play their part also by deciding to holiday at home. We have had nine uninterrupted years of growth in Irish tourism. Undoubtedly, the 2001-02 season will be challenging, but we have a strong and vibrant industry with the strength to overcome this unprecedented crisis and I believe it will do so.

I would like to share my time with Senator Denis Cregan.

Acting Chairman

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House for this important debate, the second this year on tourism and the tourist industry. Before I deal with the generalities of the industry, I will focus for a moment on a specific issue that is causing widespread concern in tourism circles. A year and a half after the national development plan was launched, there are still five sub-measures relating to the tourism programme not agreed with the EU Commission in Brussels. As recently as 25 October, the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Fahey, said in the Dáil that the marine tourism grant scheme is one of the five sub-measures in the tourism aspect of the national development plan that is currently being discussed with the EU. It is awaiting EU approval.

Some senior officials from Ireland West Tourism were in contact with me during the week and said that they are sitting on a pile of applications relating to measures under this programme that they cannot deal with because they do not know where they are going. The investors who want to spend money have to sit around as well. At this critical juncture, when we have a downturn in the economy, we need all the investors we have to come on board immediately without having to sit around for a year waiting to know what will happen with regard to their specific projects.

The Minister of State asked in his speech what we are doing. I suggest respectfully that we should go to Brussels to pressurise the Commission to have the five sub-measures agreed, even at this late juncture, a year and a half after the launch of the national development plan, so the tourist industry will know exactly where it is going and investors can put to work the money they have earmarked for specific ventures within the industry. That is a specific area upon which the Department should be focusing. I was also contacted by an investor during the week who has a project in the pipeline for months and he is waiting to see how the die will be cast in this regard.

It is not acceptable that this matter is not addressed swiftly, especially when the industry is more or less in crisis after the impact of the foot and mouth disease tragedy in the early part of the year. That set us back considerably. In addition, the events of 11 September brought the tourism industry to its knees.

The industry employs more than 15,000 people and it brings in revenue of over £3 billion annually. It is our second largest industry after agriculture. I commend some of the measures the Minister of State has outlined in his speech. I hope the new arrangement with our counterparts in Northern Ireland will bring a substantial improvement to the tourism business when the economy begins to grow again.

Given the economic outlook for next year and allowing for the reduced number of flights and the curtailment of services that Aer Lingus and the other air carriers have implemented, with possibly more to come, about 9,000 seats per week will not be available next year. Even if every seat on Aer Lingus flights and those of other carriers serving Ireland were filled, capacity would still be reduced by about 9,000 seats a week. Those are considerable figures and their impact will not be felt until this time next year. That is why it is incumbent upon the Department and the Minister to put the measures in place to assist the domestic tourism industry.

More people must come from Europe and England. We have a very favourable exchange rate with the United Kingdom. There is a potential danger in the next year to two years in that, if sterling weakens against the euro, our advantage in the UK market will begin to slip. That will contribute enormously to the problems we already have in the tourism industry. The Department must be aware of what is happening.

I was in Sweden during the year. Stockholm and its waterways are famous internationally. The Swedes have built a thriving industry around their waterways, rivers and lakes. One of the measures introduced by Ministers and Departments down the years which springs to mind in this regard is the tax concession scheme for urban renewal, which was a huge success in most towns and cities. Few did not avail of it and the keys to its success were the tax breaks and the tax designation which created an incentive for investors to put their money into developments in parts of towns and cities which were run down. The Minister should examine a tax break for waterways to encourage investment in our rivers and lakes. We have a great network of waterways which are hardly used when compared with what our European colleagues do.

The Minister should consider imaginative measures, including tax breaks for people who want to enter the marine and aquatic industries. This country has water everywhere and we do not utilise it to its full potential. That would be one way of encouraging investment. The investors exist but they need an incentive. If the Minister introduced some form of tax designation scheme for investment in our waterways and rivers to allow for pleasure cruises and aquatic leisure activities of all types, there would be a tremendous response. There are great possibilities in this area for the development of the tourism industry.

I thank Senator Caffrey for sharing time. Tourism is our second largest industry, on the promotion of which some £90 million will be spent over the next 12 months. It must be asked if we are going about this in the right way. The events of 11 September have created a frightening scenario for the world. Senator Caffrey made a good point in stating that the numbers who will fly to Ireland in the next two to three years will not be the same as before. What are we to do to hold on to what we have and keep on line what we have improved in the past seven, eight or nine years? It is important we ensure that what has been built up is held.

It is a matter of concern when one hears people in the hotel industry saying they have had a very bad year, something the Minister admitted. What are we doing for them? This is a year when we need to hold what we have and we should give an incentive to the hotel and B&B sectors. The registration fees they pay to Bord Fáilte should be rebated this year. We should not be afraid to do that and to say we are doing so.

While I would not suggest that £90 million should not be spent on promotion, I wonder if we are going about it in the right way. Hotels need to promote themselves. Bord Fáilte is very good at it, but is it good enough at promoting the product in the manner the hotel and bed and breakfast sectors want?

We are not very good at promoting within Europe the potential of Ireland as a tourist destination. We have very few visitors from northern Europe and we must consider why this is so. It is a matter of great concern, given that a flight from that region is only about two hours. Radio stations and newspapers recently reported what people from northern Europe think about Ireland. They are in no hurry to come here. This must be examined and we should not be afraid to say that some of our standards are not good in comparison with other countries. The reports even named cities and highlighted concerns about dilapidation and comparatively poor infrastructure. We should get our house in order before we try attracting visitors to this country.

Little use is made of sports people to promote Ireland. Compared with other countries, we do not promote well, especially given the opportunities available through television coverage of national and international sporting events. There are great Irish sports people such as golfers, who do Ireland proud and whom we do not use sufficiently to promote the country. Grants should be given to them or to specific clubs from the £90 million to instigate a promotion campaign. The symbol of the shamrock should be displayed by all sporting people. More should be done. It is needed now more than ever because tourism is our second industry.

People in the hotel sector cannot avail of funding to travel to tourism conferences, yet Bord Fáilte officials travel on their behalf. Grants should be given to the people in the hotel sector to enable them to attend these events. Obviously they are not attending conferences this year because business is down and they cannot afford to attend. We should decide on a sum, be it £500,000 or £1 million, to be allocated to people who want to attend these conferences. As the people directly involved in the industry, they can promote themselves best.

As regards the domestic market, even our best hotels have had to reduce their prices because they are not attracting international visitors. That is unfortunate and we do not want that to last too long. Everything possible must be done to ensure we do not lose out this year and next when there will obviously be problems with the American market. We need to look elsewhere for markets. Senator Caffrey asked a very good question when he asked if we are looking at Europe and not just Britain.

I accept that Britain is an obvious choice because there is a very good currency exchange rate for those coming here. The currency differential can be as much as 30%. If I go to Britain, it will cost £430 to buy £300 sterling. If I have £100 left when I return, it will cost me another £19 to change it. The difference then is near to 40%. However, there will be total havoc on 2 January next when the euro begins its first day of trading.

We should not let these factors prevent us from focusing on the northern European market. People from that region travel a great deal to France, northern Italy and elsewhere but not to Ireland. We should be much better at promoting Ireland in the northern Europe market as a tourist destination. We are not doing well in this regard.

I welcome the fact that Northern Ireland and the Republic are now being promoted as one island with a marketing budget of £21 million. That will be a big advantage to us. The people directly involved in the supply of tourism products, including B&B operators if they so wish, should also be involved in their promotion. They are the people who can point to what is actually on offer in their localities – Cork, Killarney, Donegal etc. Grant aid or tax allowances could be provided which would allow that to be achieved very cheaply.

We do not make sufficient use of our sports people to market Ireland abroad. Sports people like Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke are watched by huge audiences on Sky television. It is important that they and other Irish sports people wear the symbol of the harp or the shamrock as Sonia O'Sullivan does, although she does not do so at the behest of the Government. The Government should become directly involved in this type of promotion, particularly when it has a marketing budget of more than £100 million at its disposal.

Huge development has occurred in Kerry, west Cork and elsewhere over the past five years, resulting in a dramatic increase in bed numbers. We cannot let tourist operators down. We should use every facility available to us to market our tourism product.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House to discuss this important issue. This has been a traumatic year for the tourism industry with the double shock of the foot and mouth crisis and the tragic events of 11 September. This time last year tourism was well on its way to becoming Ireland's biggest industry with unprecedented levels of growth and increasing confidence in our ability to host major events. More than 6.4 million overseas visitors visited Ireland last year, representing a 25% increase on the figures prior to this Government's taking office. Foreign earnings increased by 38% to £3 billion and one in every 12 people in the Irish workforce worked in the tourism industry at the end of last year.

The growth in tourism over the past ten years did not happen accidentally. Fianna Fáil has been in government for eight of the past ten years and its policies created the climate in which the industry prospered. Fianna Fáil Governments worked in partnership with the tourism industry and we had every reason at the start of this year to expect even greater success. Nothing could have prepared us for what happened. The foot and mouth crisis had the potential to undermine completely our success in the tourism sector. The challenge it presented was unprecedented, coming as it did on the back of almost nine years of uninterrupted growth in the tourism industry. Through a series of measures and action on the part of the Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation and the State agencies, carried out in full consultation with the industry, we met the challenge head on and together we succeeded in confining the outbreak, which spread like wildfire through Britain, to a single case in the Republic.

I commend the Government for the prompt, comprehensive and highly effective action it took to combat the disease and ensure the Irish tourism industry recovers from its effect. Great credit is due to the farming, sporting and other organisations which took all necessary steps to ensure the disease did not spread. Had it spread, we would now find ourselves in a far more serious position, the effects of which would be seen for many years to come.

The Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation took decisive steps to get tourism back on track and was able to secure £10 million in extra funding to enable Bord Fáilte to mount a major promotional and reassurance campaign in our main markets. Although some people said at the time that this funding was not necessary, great credit is due to the Minister and the Government for their foresight. The Minister led an extensive tour of the United States and, by early autumn, there were strong indications that a recovery was under way. Earlier forecasts from Bord Fáilte pointed to a 14% drop in visitor numbers but that figure was subsequently revised downwards to 5%, with signs that the last quarter would see a strong performance from the United States in particular.

The gross act of terrorism of 11 September represented a serious blow to the recovery of Irish tourism and has had a profound impact on international travel and tourism. Unlike the foot and mouth crisis, over which we had some control at national level, the current crisis is a global one whose repercussions are felt worldwide. While there are numerous reports of cancellations from individual operators, it is still too early to assess the overall impact and long-term consequences of the atrocities in the US for international travel and holiday patterns. It is clear, however, that the recent developments will significantly impact on visitor numbers to Ireland, particularly from America, for the remainder of this year and into 2002, leading to the first annual decline in US visitor numbers for almost a decade.

We must ensure we have sufficient visitors from other markets to replace those US visitors who will not travel next year and must increase our share of the British and continental markets. The Government has not been found wanting in responding to this task. At the Minister's request, Bord Fáilte and Tourism Ireland Limited, the new North-South tourism marketing company established under the Good Friday Agreement and launched yesterday, are currently carrying out a root and branch reassessment of our tourism marketing campaigns and strategies. I wish the new body well.

Arrangements have been put in place to ensure marketing strategies are developed to deal with the fall-out from the recent atrocities for the remainder of this year's tourist season and for 2002. Particular attention is being focused on the speed at which public confidence in air travel can be restored. Bord Fáilte has already announced details of a £750,000 programme for immediate additional measures to cover the British, Irish, French and German markets and has circulated comprehensive information on its £3.5 million annual programme to those involved in the trade and other interested parties.

It must be stressed that there is no intention to abandon the American market. In the immediate future we must continue to concentrate on creating incentives in niche areas and on promoting the excellent conference and golfing facilities available here.

I am delighted that yesterday marked the launch of Tourism Ireland Ltd., the first all-Ireland tourism marketing body, which was envisaged under the Good Friday Agreement. This company will market the entire island of Ireland as a holiday destination. It will be a giant step forward for the tourism industry. New fulfilment literature and market books have been prepared and will be available, for the first time ever, on an all-Ireland basis. I firmly believe that the new institutional structure and the wider diversity of attractions and traditions which we can now offer to visitors will position us favourably in the international marketplace.

Like other Members, I am of the opinion that the streamlining of the tourism industry is extremely important. There is a great deal of overlapping in the literature distributed by various organisations involved in the industry. This could be streamlined, leading to major savings for many of those organisations.

The new structures also provide a unique opportunity to carry out a fundamental review of how or where we do business and the manner in which we allocate our significant resources. Tourism Ireland will have access to a programme marketing budget of almost £27 million for next year. This finance will be provided by the two Admin istrations. Yesterday's launch marked the beginning of the campaign to win back business for Ireland, North and South, in 2002 and to complement the industry's own efforts during that period. The launch will hopefully boost confidence and demonstrate that we are professionally positioned to market the island of Ireland to potential international travellers in 2002.

In the challenging months ahead it is imperative that we remain acutely conscious of the fact that we have a wonderful product and a strong industry with a proven track record and the confidence to win business in key markets. We need strong structures in place to deal with our medium-term plans for international markets, products and human resource development. There is no doubt that there are interesting times ahead. We must not, however, lose sight of the fact that we have a strong and vibrant tourism industry. The events of 2001 are certainly taking their toll and I believe the Government, in partnership with those involved in the industry, has the talent, determination and strength to see Ireland through this unprecedented crisis.

There have been many objections to and much discussion about Stadium and Campus Ireland. In my opinion, the quicker the project proceeds the better it will be for the tourism industry. If it was in place at present, I have no doubt we would be in a far better position to attract many thousands of sporting enthusiasts from across the world to visit this city. The spin-offs from that would prove of major benefit to the rest of the country.

Hotels and bed and breakfast establishments must take account of current difficulties. A previous speaker indicated that there has been a reduction in prices and I believe this will encourage Irish people to holiday at home. Ireland offers excellent shooting and fishing facilities and we must ensure that holidays on our waterways are developed and promoted because of the major opportunities that exist. Marketing of the facilities Ireland can offer is a must.

Many hotels were built and other developments proceeded with on the basis of a predicted tourist numbers and a substantial number of these may encounter difficulties. There is an onus on county managers and the Department of the Environment and Local Government to consider allowing a part-year rate remission in respect of some of those establishments to ensure they can overcome the difficulties that have arisen this year. I have no doubt that these difficulties will be overcome in the near future.

The Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation must contact other Departments in the context of considering the potential for developing our waterways, particularly the Shannon. An opportunity exists now for the extension of the upper Shannon tax designation to the lower region of the river. This opportunity must be grasped as soon as possible.

One body, Dúchas, has impeded a great deal of development on the Shannon. While I accept that Dúchas has a right to its own view on this matter, it is impeding development in and close to many towns situated on our waterways. I hope something can be done to ensure that those in the industry who are in a position to develop the potential of the River Shannon will be facilitated and assisted in whatever way possible. The developers to whom I refer will not do damage to anything of importance. Immediate consideration must be given to developing new moorings for boats, etc.

I compliment the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Deputy McDaid, and his Department on the outstanding work they have done in this difficult year, during which we had the outbreak of foot and mouth and witnessed the events of 11 September. I have no doubt that their commitment and that of the new tourism body – which will bring together the various regional tourism bodies – will help us to overcome current difficulties and ensure that tourist numbers rise once more. I hope Aer Rianta will continue to develop its airports to the high standards already established. When tourist numbers increase again, I am sure we will have the capability to cater for those who wish to visit Ireland in the future.

I once again congratulate the Minister of State on the commitment he has shown and I thank him for being present for this debate.

I also welcome the initiative taken yesterday to establish the North-South tourism body. This is an important development because it will be much easier to market the island as a whole. While the work of professionals is extremely important, I wish to praise those involved in tourism on a voluntary basis whose contribution has been extraordinarily important. The people to whom I refer were involved in the launch of the tidy towns scheme, which we should remember made a tremendous difference in terms of our being able to market Ireland as a clean and tidy country to those contemplating a visit here.

Only 25 years ago many small country towns were not very attractive places, but I found matters to be very different when I recently had occasion to pass through Clonakilty and the other towns of west Cork. I have not been to the Faroe Islands but apparently they use the same colours as are used to paint the houses in west Cork. I remember those colours as a child so it is a tradition and not something new that has been brought into the area. There has been a huge attempt to make the place look as attractive as it used to. I also praise the people in these towns who have eschewed the imposition of plastic shop fronts and who have sought and fought for the reintroduction of more traditional shop fronts. It makes a huge difference if we look different. There is no sense in setting up marinas that look like those in the south of Spain. That will not attract people here. We must look different.

I disagree with Senator Moylan about Dúchas's influence. We have to be very careful. I was in west Cork earlier in the year and people were telling me about parts of Ireland they would not go to again because of the development of holiday homes near the coast. They thought our coastline had been spoilt by these developments. We will have to be very cautious and present something special. If we are not presenting something special people will not come here. Why bother to come here if we look the same as somewhere in Majorca? That is not what people want. They want something different, which we have been able to offer.

Getting back to the volunteers, the niche markets here have not fallen away in the tourism battle. I was at the 50th anniversary of the Wexford Festival, which was set up by a group of volunteers, the late Dr. Tom Walsh being the most important. Its committee is still run by volunteers. There is a huge professional input but the power behind the festival is in the hands of the volunteers. Despite what happened in New York, they had no cancellations coming to their festival two months later. It is important we take note of this. If one has a really good product which is being maintained by locals, who know what people want, then outside events will not affect it so much. If it is something one cannot get elsewhere; people will not say instead of going to Wexford they will go to Idaho. If what one wants to see is in Wexford, one has to come to Wexford. I hope the Minister encourages the Arts Council to promote all these festivals which are the bedrock of tourism.

All of us will remember going abroad years ago and visiting small towns which all had their own festivals, even if those were based on the local saint's day. I was fascinated one time in Italy when an area was having a festival for the local saint on 25 July. Huge crowds of immigrants had returned from America, France and elsewhere to celebrate the day. I said it was wonderful and I was told that originally the saint's day had been in November but they had changed it because it was not bringing in enough tourists. I thought they were versatile people to manage to get the saint's day changed to a time in July when one could get crowds to come. They were volunteers also, deciding to have a promotion of the area based on something particular to that area. We have so many of these festivals that one is tripping over them from Boyle to Bantry. The Cork Jazz Festival was not affected by the atrocity in New York and people were sleeping ten to a room because there was so much pressure for accommodation.

Such people need to be listened to if they say they feel they can do something, frequently on very little money. A few quid spent in the volun tary sector is often the most important money that can be spent. We are spending a lot abroad on the promotion of tourism. I was in London recently and even along the escalator to the Tube there are advertisements for people to come to Ireland. While an outside effort is required from the Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Michael O'Leary has a point in saying that if we can get people here perhaps we do not need to spend all that much on promoting tourism abroad. We have a very good product and our name has been considered reliable for a very long time. I am not so concerned that we should launch such expensive campaigns.

The European market is very important. When something like the New York atrocity happens, Americans get extraordinarily nervous about travel and draw the wagons into a circle. They have a huge country they can explore to their hearts' content for many years. The European market – and the British market, which has always been extraordinarily important – are areas on which we should concentrate.

I am glad Senator Moylan brought up the situation regarding the waterways in Ireland. Unfortunately this sector has not done as well as I would have hoped and I cannot understand why. We have splendid waterways here, be they on the Shannon, the Erne or the canals. Perhaps we should do a more in-depth study as to why this has not taken off as well as we expected. If one goes somewhere like the Norfolk Broads one can barely move, yet we have huge expanses of water which are usable and very attractive but we do not seem to have managed to get this area going. There are good festivals like that in Tullamore, which get local people involved, but perhaps we should ask people living along the canals and the Shannon if there is something more we can do. However, again I urge caution about developments along the Shannon. If we look the same as any other waterway in Europe we will not have people coming here.

The Dublin Marathon took place the other day and we have all sorts of other events going well. This is a time for optimism about these events. American football and racing are going well; money has been invested in racing and it seems to be prospering more than ever. Fishing is going well but that is tied up with agriculture. Those involved in tourism did a great deal for the farming community earlier this year during the foot and mouth crisis and now it is time for the farmers to pay them back. They should be utterly cautious about the spreading of slurry and cut down on the amount of phosphate they are putting on the land. Now is the time for them to try to pay back those who did so much for them earlier in the year when they lost an awful lot of business because of the foot and mouth epidemic in England and the fact that we could not bring in tourists. I would like to see the farming community paying them back.

Years ago the lakes of Cavan did not have a fish in them but recently there has been a huge improvement. However, these improvements can be destroyed overnight by the foolish actions of people spreading slurry during the rainy season, though they are not supposed to spread slurry at all at this time of year. Such foolish actions can destroy the livelihoods of other people and we should remember this is a co-operative area. We have an interdependence between agriculture and tourism in many areas which should not be forgotten.

I have been cheerful today when I think about what is happening because I feel that tourism here will hold up very well. However, I get constant complaints about one area – transport. One American woman told me she did not know why people complained about the transport in Ireland as she had gone to Belfast the other day and it was perfectly splendid. It would be a good idea if all the trains in the country were the same as the Enterprise but they are not. They are terrible. The Cork train is overcrowded all the time. There is not one of those trains which is not dangerous given the number of people travelling in them. It is quite dreadful. I do not know what the matter is or why we cannot get more carriages. Do we not have rolling stock or what? To see people standing for hours is unbelievable.

The last time I travelled on the Sligo train, I was fortunate that there was an inspector with some initiative who encouraged us all to come into a couple of carriages as the body heat of those in the carriages kept it slightly warm. The heating on the train was not working. There were also regular travellers on the train who had thermos flasks and food with them. They generously shared it with the rest of us who were not habitués of the train and that was extremely kind of them, but we should not really be relying on that sort of volunteer spirit.

It is like going to the South Pole.

It is very quaint.

That sort of volunteer spirit is not really what I am trying to encourage. I really would like to see CIE do something with the Sligo train.

It takes three and half hours to get from Dublin to Wexford by train and it is a terrible train. Seeing as it is such an important access route to the boat in Rosslare, that is plainly ridiculous. I realise that the Government is putting money into the railways. It is extraordinarily sad what we let happen to the railways in the 1950s and 1960s but that is no excuse for not addressing these problems speedily. The Killarney train is another I have been on which one would have to describe as problematic. The Limerick train is slightly better, perhaps because they feel the Cork people would object as well.

I am quite sure it is not because those working in CIE are not making an effort. I am sure they are, but of course it is very difficult to put right the years of neglect. Let us hope that we will not have to rely on citizens to give tourists supper on our trains and that the company makes sure this is an area of priority.

I congratulate the Department on what it is trying to do. Rather than spending money on a worldwide campaign, however, it might be better asking those involved, particularly in the voluntary sector, where they would like to see the emphasis. That might involve the spending of smaller amounts of money and it would be money better spent.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. It seems as if he did not leave the House since yesterday evening and I am just wondering can we conclude, from the way he is being blooded in different Departments, that he is being groomed for greater things in the future.

I welcome the initiative taken yesterday in respect of North/South co-operation on marketing this country's tourism assets and the increased budget for overseas marketing which has been put in place by the Governments. These are all steps in the right direction. I am particularly pleased that we are debating this issue here this morning. The tourism industry is a critical and vital part of the economy and anything that injures the tourism industry constitutes a grave injury to the economy and to the future of employment in Ireland.

The key argument I am trying to establish is that a new aviation policy is central to getting a new tourism initiative going and is essential to the continued growth and development of the tourism industry in Ireland. Therefore I will talk mainly about aviation. The sad events of 11 September, which were aviation based in every sense, are what alerted us more than anything else to the vulnerability of the tourism industry in Ireland. I would argue strongly that aviation is central to getting us out of the current difficulties.

When aviation suffers, tourism suffers. Tourism is one of Ireland's most important industries employing 150,000 currently. It is one of the primary engines for delivering the growth which we have seen in the economy in recent times. It is certainly one of the primary engines of growth where there is very little alternative employment available in areas like west Cork, Kerry and the west.

The financial benefits of a healthy thriving tourism industry are enormous. It is estimated that every £1 million of expenditure by overseas tourists sustains 51 jobs in the Irish economy. A loss of 1 million tourists next year, which has been predicted, would cost the economy more than 20,000 jobs. It would be a tragedy if that were allowed to happen but it does not have to happen provided we now take the right action quickly. We can do a great deal to help the tourism indus try to weather the current storm but I would argue strongly that aviation policy is the key.

We must, first, keep Aer Lingus in the air and, second, develop a coherent national aviation policy. I do not see any long-term future for Aer Lingus if it remains in public ownership. The commercial realities are simple. State aid rules mean that, as a State company, Aer Lingus would have no source of capital and it would be dependent on borrowing and internal cashflow to fund expansion. You do not have to be an economic wizard to see that there would not be much room for expansion in such a scenario. Aircraft are expensive items. An Airbus A330, for example, for the transatlantic service can cost anything up to $130 million. Without access to fresh capital Aer Lingus would be at the mercy of its competitors, almost all of whom are now publicly quoted companies with direct access to capital markets.

It might seem hopeless at this stage to talk about floating Aer Lingus on the stock market, but we should remember that it is not many years since Ryanair was struggling for survival and suffering huge losses, and look at Ryanair now. In terms of market capitalisation it is the second largest airline in Europe, second only to Lufthansa, and that has been achieved in a very short number of years.

Access is critical for tourism. If you cut routes, you cut tourist numbers to this country. Therefore the challenge for us is to develop a tourism industry to promote Ireland as a clean friendly welcoming destination which is good value for money. The key to achieving this is through the growth of low cost airlines using airports such as those at Cork, Shannon and Dublin.

The situation in the international aviation industry is becoming clearer by the day. Full service carriers are cutting services and low cost carriers are increasing services. You do not need a team of consultants or brainboxes to be able to interpret that. What we in this country need then is an aviation policy designed to get as many people as possible flying into Ireland. If we want to compensate for cutbacks at British Airways, Delta and Aer Lingus, we will need growth from somewhere else and the only source of that growth is in the east, in the European market. We must look to create access for low cost carriers to enable Europeans to visit Ireland in larger numbers. We need a policy response from the Government which encourages low cost carriers to open new services to Ireland, not just for Dublin but also for Cork and Shannon. I believe low cost carriers can play a major critical role in giving our tourism industry the kind of blood transfusion it now needs if it is to thrive in the future. More and more progress can be made if we address that situation. Low cost carriers offer low fares and that is exactly what the Irish tourism industry needs right now.

Ryanair has already shown what can be done with new routes. This morning I looked up the fares on the new routes it has opened up between Ireland and continental Europe in recent times just to check the prices before I came in. On the Ryanair website, for instance, you can book return trips from Frankfurt to Shannon for £67, from Brussels to Dublin for £41 and from Paris to Dublin for £36.50. Fares like that are better promotional tools than any of the marketeers we sent out on behalf of our tourism bodies.

That is true.

It is true, and we have to face up to it. To survive we need to ensure low cost business grows and that we decrease our dependence on US business. The events of 11 September show we should not be over-reliant on one market for business and growth in the tourism sector. We should focus on the European market, which to date we have failed to exploit. Before 11 September there was a significant decrease in the number of German tourists coming to Ireland. I did some research yesterday on this. I will take the example of three cities, Munich, Malaga and Dublin. Malaga and Dublin are equidistant from Munich. It is possible to fly from Munich to Malaga for a little less than £130, but it costs in excess of £460 to fly from Munich to Dublin. This gives us a large part of the explanation as to why German tourist numbers have significantly decreased in recent years. The cost of access to Ireland is much too high.

A person who flies from Munich to Ireland at that extraordinarily high fare is flown into Dublin, where he or she does not want to be. They want to be in the west. The look of disbelief on the face of the Minister prompts me to remind him that a number of such tourists think Dublin is a very uninteresting place. They want to be in west Cork, Kerry and the west.

Parochialism.

They want to play golf on the good links courses in places such as Ballybunion and to fish on the good lakes in the west. They want the charm and lack of congestion, without pollution and crowds of people.

An Leas-Chathaoirleach

I hope the Senator will be balanced in her speech.

I am trying to redress the imbalance shown by successive Governments in this respect. These tourists want to be in the west and rural areas. They want to explore and exploit the charm of our archaeology and landscape and enjoy our good food. However, we force them to fly into Dublin and take congested roads to the west. If that is not a form of idiocy beyond explanation, nothing is.

I make this point to clinch my overall argument which is that the areas that most need a vibrant tourism industry are those where there are few other sources of employment. I am making this major argument for those places. I welcome tourists who come to any part of Ireland, but I am very fearful for parts of west Cork and Kerry, which have no alternative to tourism in the event that the tourism industry collapses. I make the point not to denigrate anybody, but to bring it to the notice of people and to shock them into realising what will happen if we continue with the current aviation policy of forgetting about Ireland west of the Shannon.

I wish to make a further point about Aer Rianta. Ryanair is one of Aer Rianta's largest customers and the company's most likely source of traffic growth in the next few years, but that is not always acknowledged by Aer Rianta, which is a pity. The three main airports are key strategic national assets and I am glad they are staying in public ownership.

It would be a great pity for Irish aviation if Aer Lingus was to further cut its route network. It would also be a pity if Aer Rianta kept the door shut on deals with low cost carriers. If both happened together, it would be a disaster, not just for Irish aviation, but for tourism, employment and the economy.

Some of our best potential tourists are those who are acutely conscious of a clean, green, healthy environment. We must look at environmental protection in relation to the quality of our waterways and fishing lakes and in terms of the environment in general, particularly in areas west of the Shannon. The tourists whom we have the potential to attract are discerning and want to spend their holidays in a place where the food is grown in a healthy environment, is well cooked and well served, and where there is freedom to breathe good, clean air. We must intensify our efforts in terms of environmental protection.

Value for money will be a very important criterion in future. I regret having to say that while the quality of our accommodation and food has improved enormously in the past ten years – great credit is due to the industry for spearheading that improvement – in many cases we are on the brink of pricing ourselves out of certain markets. The tourism industry will have to examine itself in this regard. It is interesting to see how prices in some establishments normally beyond my price range by a long shot were adjusted downwards in recent times. If it is possible to do that, it should be possible to have some level of reduction in costs.

The Government has allocated an increased budget for overseas marketing. I want to say to the Minister, though he is not listening to me—

I am listening intently.

—that our best marketing tool is a satisfied customer who goes home to Brussels, Berlin, Beirut or Ballybunion and says, "I had a very good holiday in Ireland. It is a very good place to spend your holiday – the food was excellent, the entertainment was top class, I got very good value for money and will go back." We want to send tourists home from this country saying such things. It is the best marketing tool we have.

I am glad to have had the opportunity to speak in this debate. It is fundamentally important that we address our aviation policy, improve access and examine our product, and that we do so now and not wait for what is traditionally the beginning of the tourism season, although the season has expanded. If we do not do that, unemployment figures in parts of the country will be absolutely dire.

I welcome the Minister to the House. I wish to refer to an issue raised by Senator Caffrey in relation to what was called the Operational Programme for Tourism under previous tranches of European funding as part our national development plan. I do not know what it is called under the current operational programme but five major subheads have not yet been agreed with the European Commission. That is inexcusable because this programme runs from 2000-06, yet now, at the end of the second year of the programme, these matters have still not been agreed.

Under these subheads are provisions for funding of rural tourism, which is very important in Ireland, as well as marine or waterways tourism. There also ought to be funding under these headings for the development of sites of historical or archaeological interest. Surveys show that visitors love our pubs and traditional music but they also love visiting sites of archaeological or historical interest. It is scandalous how little money there is to develop cultural tourism. While there are great tourist sites, such as the Rock of Cashel and Clonmacnoise, which have been well developed over the years, there are hundreds of sites which are underdeveloped. There is no co-ordination between the Departments of Tourism, Sport and Recreation and Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, which deals with national monuments, etc.

One of the greatest sites of Celtic civilisation in Europe is located at Rathcroghan in County Roscommon. It is a massive earthworks site. When I was a Member of the Lower House and Fine Gael was in Government a number of years ago I strongly promoted the development of that site. There was agreement and some works were carried out. An interpretative centre was to be built and greater access provided. The site is quite primitive with a complex of giant earthworks covering thousands of acres of land. Access and rights of way needed to be negotiated. Attempts were made to do so and some work was done. However, the work stalled because funding ran out. The commitment to this programme ended. That should not happen.

There should be co-ordination between the Departments of Tourism, Sport and Recreation and Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands because they have a clear interest in promoting tourism. Very often they work in opposite directions and while the work on the development of our great historical and archaeological sites can be very good, the two Departments do not even talk to one another despite the massive tourism potential. There are sites similar to Rathcroghan throughout the country. Small amounts are invested in such projects but I welcome the allocation of £90 million for tourism marketing development in the coming year.

I was nominated by my local authority to the board of Ireland West. The great problem for tourism industry representatives who sat on the board was the lack of funding for marketing. The consensus among everybody involved in promoting tourism in the region was that there was not enough funding for the marketing that was required and much of the marketing was misdirected. That issue needs to be examined.

Tourism Ireland, the new North-South body which launched its marketing programme yesterday in Dublin, needs to examine the manner in which tourism is marketed in this State. There needs to be much more niche marketing. Senator Henry said that when she was in the London Underground last week, she noticed numerous small advertisements appealing to people to come to Ireland. That is fine. However, many of the advertisements in the media overseas are a bit unimaginative. This is another area that needs to be examined.

One of the great problems facing the development of tourism in Ireland is the cost of access. The national airline is a fine institution but it is not famous for its cheap tickets. Part of the problem with the national airline has been that it will not sell empty seats at a bargain price as other airlines will do. Aer Rianta, a State body, controls the airports and maintains a regime of expensive landing fees. This is the principal criticism by one of the private airlines operating from Ireland. We cannot advertise them here but they do make telling points to the Minister, Deputy O'Rourke. Their system of charging airlines landing fees is totally inflexible. There is a standard set of fees for a period of time that applies no matter what type of aircraft is using the facilities and I believe the most expensive fees are at Dublin Airport. This system is too inflexible for today's conditions.

Privately owned airlines would love to bring people into the country at more competitive prices and if we are interested in solving the problem of access it is something we need to look at. This ball is firmly in the Government's court because Aer Rianta is a so-called commercial semi-State body. I acknowledge its good work and the development of the airports in Dublin and Shannon. Millions of pounds have been spent, albeit of taxpayers' money, and Aer Rianta did bring the plans forward. It too needs to be critically examined because it is a major player in relation to access. I make that point forcefully to the Minister and to the civil servants beside him who are taking notes on what Members are saying.

There is poor distribution of tourism revenue which is difficult for the Government to do anything about. It comes perhaps more within Bord Fáilte's remit. Approximately 80% of all tourists come to Dublin. County Roscommon is very much the poor relation in the Ireland West tourism region when compared to Mayo and Galway and their spectacular scenery and landscapes on the west coast. Roscommon does have the River Shannon but gets about 6% or 7% of the total revenue of the three counties taken together. There is something wrong with that distribution. Something needs to be done to address the uneven distribution on a national level and between east and west.

The greatest cutbacks made in response to the events of 11 September have been at Shannon Airport. This means that the brunt of the cuts in routes into Ireland has been borne by Shannon. Each year hundreds of thousands of people alight at Shannon Airport from across the Atlantic and spend their holidays adjacent to the airport, in the west, Cork and Kerry. This issue needs to be examined because it has the potential to have a disproportionately damaging effect on the tourism industry in the western and south-western regions, as I am sure you will agree, a Chathaoirligh.

Tourism Ireland is one of the better outcomes of the Good Friday Agreement and I wish it well. It is an excellent idea to market Ireland as a single island. The rivers and waterways all join together – for example, when the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell canal is included, nearly half of the Great Shannon Waterway is in Northern Ireland. Tourism Ireland's joint marketing programme is to be welcomed.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Both he and the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Deputy McDaid, have had the unenviable task of dealing with the last few difficult months and I hope these difficulties will not last much longer. I suggest that any discussion in the House concerning the effects of the 11 September disaster be pre-empted by an acknowledgment of the much greater difficulties being faced by the thousands of people across the Atlantic whose day-to-day lives have been directly affected. We are suffering some of the consequences of those events but we must admit they are minor by comparison.

I welcome the progress made in launching Tourism Ireland. It is hard to believe that the administrative structure of the tourism industry has not undergone fundamental review since the 1960s, considering the revolution that has taken place in the industry worldwide over the last 40 years. Even before the advent of relatively cheap international air travel, tourism in the 1980s and 1990s was unrecognisable compared to what existed in the 1960s. Foreign travel – both outgoing and incoming – was a luxury affordable for few. I wish everybody involved in Tourism Ireland well.

Tourism is concerned with travel and travel is about access. In this regard our island status puts us in a uniquely difficult position where the importance of cheap air and sea travel cannot be overestimated. Over the last ten years we have seen huge improvements in access by sea, especially through the ports on the east and south coasts. There have been huge improvements not only in service quality but also in value for money and speed of journeys. It is interesting to note the figures for passenger growth on those routes, which confirm the adage that if the product is available and of reasonable value it will by used by the market. Air travel should take a leaf from the book of the marine travel industry. We may not like everything about Ryanair but we must respect what it has achieved, not only for tourism but also for the economy. There has been a change in lifestyle for large numbers of people for whom air travel was a luxury until the advent of Ryanair. We must acknowledge and respect its contribution to the development of this country over the last ten years.

Senator Caffrey referred to the difficulties at Aer Lingus, which is a subject close to my heart. He mentioned a reduction in capacity of 9,000 passengers per week on its routes as a result of the proposed rescue plan. That is a sobering statistic but it should be kept in context. If those 9,000 passenger slots per week are not lost the entire Aer Lingus fleet might have to be grounded, as we saw with Sabena this week. It is a question of short-term pain for long-term gain. Unfortunately the loss of those 9,000 seats will have to be accepted as an essential element of the viability plan and the key to survival for the national airline. A much higher number of ingoing and outgoing seats will be maintained as a result.

The third major aviation company has a huge number of questions to answer and has managed to shun the limelight so far. Senator Connor referred to the role of Aer Rianta, which is important and worthy of examination. It is acknowledged by all and sundry in the inter national aviation industry that the landing charges imposed by Aer Rianta for access to Irish airports are exorbitant and that the company itself is not particularly well run, to put it mildly. From my own knowledge of Dublin Airport there are some anomalies. For example, Ryanair never uses a bus for passenger access to aircraft from the terminal building and vice versa. A bus travels around the tarmac in prominent Ryanair livery, but I would suggest that it is merely a public relations exercise. I would challenge anybody to say they have used a bus to access a Ryanair aircraft, except in the most unusual circumstances, yet Aer Lingus has huge overhead costs as a subject of the viability plan, a major factor in which is the cost of transport to the aircraft from the terminal building. This area is worthy of examination and I suspect it may have a history. This is indicative of the type of anomaly which exists in the Aer Rianta charging schedules and something which must be considered.

Tourism is about travel and travel is about access. It is all about competitiveness. Aer Rianta is a major contributor to the difficulties faced by Aer Lingus and to the relatively slow development of provincial airports. This near monopoly will have very serious questions to answer when the spotlight passes from Aer Lingus and we get down to the important detail of landing charges and the operation of our airports as distinct from the operation of the airlines using them.

A constant theme of mine is support from the State. Everyone looks to the State for support and it is seen as the answer to all the problems in some instances. Nevertheless, there is a responsibility on individuals to make the tourism product which is so important to the national economy as viable as possible. Individual citizens have a major role to play in this regard. For years we have heard about "Ireland of the thousand welcomes". There is no reason that should be just a thousand welcomes, it should be four million welcomes or whatever the population is.

Every citizen has a role to play in the development of the tourism industry. People could be welcoming by helping tourists on the street who may appear to be in difficulty, and I am not referring to the results of some physical assaults which we have seen all too frequently in recent times. Citizens have a role to play in making visitors feel at home and co-operating with them. One will often see couples standing at corners consulting maps and trying to read street names as Gaeilge or in English, with their mother tongue a third language.

The patriotism on which we have prided ourselves for so long and which inevitably took a very different shape historically came very much to the fore during the foot and mouth threat. Great leadership was shown by many community and sporting organisations throughout the country. This is something ordinary citizens could take on board and use to the benefit of the tourism industry in general during the next few years.

The current difficulties are exacerbated by the fact that every other country in Europe will have the same debate we are having. We are involved in a dog fight from a competition point of view and we must come out of it intact. I have no doubt there will be some scars as a result of the dog fight but it is very important to be somewhat cautious. The buzz phrase at the moment, particularly in regard to tourism, is "bums on seats", which is appropriate. However, we must deal with the issue on the basis that "bums on seats" refers to part of the anatomy and is not a description of the type of individual who may well come into the country. There have been difficulties in the past in that regard and we are in danger of throwing the baby out with the bath water. There was controversy approximately one year ago about Temple Bar which, luckily, was brought under control at a relatively early stage. I urge caution in this regard because we must maintain the quality of our product and perhaps take some short-term pain. It is vital that we do not go overboard – no pun intended – in getting "bums on seats".

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. He is becoming a regular visitor here.

This is a timely debate. We requested a debate yesterday on the overall economy and there were widespread calls for a debate on tourism. Tourism has been a key element in the success of the economy. If that industry goes down the tubes the economy will be in recession because it accounts for much of the funds coming into the country.

I am pleased that yesterday the first all-Ireland tourism marketing programme was established between North and South in the context of the Good Friday Agreement. This is the first such North-South body to be established in this fashion and I would like to see much more co-operation taking place. Some £60 million will be made available to promote the entire island, with one third of that being used in the coming year. It will be very welcome, given that a 10% decline in tourism is expected this year. If that is the case this year it will be considerably more next year.

We must consider increasing tourism traffic across the Border. The advantage of people not being able to travel great distances either by sea or by air is that travel within the island is becoming more attractive than was the case in the past. The fact that the Good Friday Agreement is once more up and running and the institutions are being re-established will give confidence to people on both sides to travel across the Border, which will be beneficial to the tourism industry.

Perhaps the Minister of State would consider that while pensioners in the Republic can use free bus and train passes to travel to Belfast, they can not travel within Northern Ireland. Given the North-South marketing programme which is being established, pensioners who travel to Northern Ireland should benefit from free travel while there so that they can spend money and see the sights. This would be beneficial to the Northern Ireland economy and there could be a reciprocal arrangement in the Republic. This is a very simple suggestion which would circulate money in both economies. It could be done with the stroke of a pen and could be part and parcel of the joint co-operation North and South.

What we are facing is a crisis of confidence. During the foot and mouth epidemic in the spring people began to worry. In that situation people are conservative rather than outgoing, they become hesitant and think twice. As the foot and mouth threat subsided people began to travel again and I compliment the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development on the efficient manner in which he dealt with the crisis. He did an excellent job. The global repercussions of the attacks in New York on 11 September are much more drastic. The entire world is suffering a crisis of confidence in terms of travel, which is the first area to be hit. As an island nation we are specifically hit in that context because we can only be accessed by sea or by air. It is different in the case of most other countries. If someone on the Continent wishes to travel to Paris they can do so by rail. This type of travel is not considered dangerous, whereas people would think twice about travelling by air or sea. Within the United States and Europe people have huge land masses and a huge number of countries in which to holiday. If one wishes to travel to or from Ireland one has no choice but to travel in the manner which is now suspect in people's minds.

In that context, we have a serious case to argue on a number of fronts. Aer Lingus is the obvious one. Aer Lingus has been hardest hit because approximately 60% of its profits were made on the transatlantic flights. Many Irish people, and people of Irish descent, live in America and given the multinational aspect of our economy, particularly American, the business class seats were hugely profitable. We have suffered in that regard and the decline is occurring at a speedy rate.

Because of our connections with the United States, I cannot understand the reason the Minister for Public Enterprise could not have put up a better case for financial backing for Aer Lingus to the European Union. Ireland is exceptional. No other country in the European Union suffers the same difficulties of access. As Senator Glennon mentioned, we have exceptional access problems in the context of travel, and nobody can deny that. We should not be treated in a particular way just because we are members of the European Union. We should be treated fairly in terms of our circumstances. There is a question of fairness involved. The Minister should have ensured that we got a better deal, although we appear not to have got any deal in terms of backing from the European Union.

The abolition of duty free sales was a huge blow to Ireland because Aer Rianta operated the duty free markets around the world. The idea originated with us. We are different from other countries. We are an island nation and I do not understand why an island nation should not have an extra incentive because of additional costs. That cannot be denied. If one travels by rail or road from Italy to France, the costs are not the same. One can bring one's family very easily by rail, but to travel by air or sea is very expensive. The duty free incentive was pioneered by Ireland and it should be re-examined in terms of the current position because to get people to travel again we will have to introduce confidence building measures and other incentives to get, as Senator Glennon said, "bums on seats". No economy ever lost an enormous amount of money from having the duty free facility, so it is something that we should look at afresh.

In that context, I am delighted that the Irish soccer team will travel to Iran. We should pay tribute to Mick McCarthy and to the FAI for their courageous decision to travel to a country that is neighbouring Afghanistan. How many other countries would have done that in the circumstances? Those are the types of decisions that are necessary to instil confidence in the Muslim world and which will indicate that there is not a wicked Christian campaign against them or that the western world is ganging up on them in some fashion. That appears to be the situation in terms of the way the war is being conducted. The decision of the Irish soccer team is welcome and it will help to improve relationships on an international basis.

We will require various incentives domestically and internationally to get the show back on the road. People should be encouraged to lose their fears and become open to travel. That will be necessary and I am glad the Government will not pare back on the funding to be allocated to tourism. More funding should be allocated and we should be more proactive in providing incentives in that respect.

On the domestic front, which will be the major tourist area for the coming year or so, it was disappointing to hear of a Danish inspector coming here recently and finding that he could not recommend Ireland as a tourist destination because of the awful degree of litter and waste polluting our streets and countryside. While he reported back that Ireland was a lovely country, he also said it was covered with litter. That will not do any good in these circumstances, particularly in the Scandinavian countries which are very particular about hygiene and concerned about the environment. Our litter problem is a major black mark against us. Coming up to Christmas we would expect Icelandic and Danish visitors to come here to shop, but reports such as that can only be a disincentive. That is an issue we must address to ensure that Ireland has the best environmental standards and that the wonderful landscape and heritage in our cities and urban areas is highlighted.

This is a time for reflection, re-assessment and restructuring some of the ways in which we go about our business. Aer Rianta should look afresh at some of its landing charges. Recently Aer Arann was reluctant to continue because it could not afford to provide a service, which was to go out to private tender. I am not sure what happened. I think Aer Arann has taken on the contract again, but it would be a tragedy if the regional airports were not serviced. There is a link with Aer Rianta and it should be very much involved in assisting, in an integrated fashion, the travel industry here as well as internationally.

We are an island nation. Our economy depends very much on tourism and we need to pull out all the stops to make sure that we encourage people to travel as much as possible. We should return to this issue again immediately after Christmas so that we can consider the prospects for the year 2002.

I would like to share my time with Senator Ó Murchú.

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I welcome the Minister of State and the debate. We are experiencing a very trying time in terms of our tourism industry. I have always been of the view that when those in the tourism industry have their backs against the wall, they come out fighting stronger than ever. I compliment the Government on its performance to date and particularly on the announcements made yesterday. They could not have come at a more opportune time. It is time to put confidence back into flying to facilitate the movement of people throughout the world. We should promote more vigorously travel to the countries we depend on.

Despite the fact that many airlines are experiencing difficulty, one airline has announced handsome profits. People will have to take a leaf from its book. I was disappointed when Aer Lingus pulled out of Kerry some time ago. That was a body blow to the tourist business in Kerry, but Aer Arann came on board and put on three flights a day from Kerry to Dublin, which was recently increased to four flights. That has been done very successfully. Ryanair is also running a very successful flight from Kerry to Stansted and negotiations are currently taking place with a view to putting on another flight, possibly to take up the slack which Aer Lingus has dropped, to places such as Manchester and Birmingham.

A combined approach is needed between all interests concerned, including the Government. The entire tourism industry should undertake a major marketing initiative on low cost package promotions, supported by Government funding on a pound for pound basis. The economy has taken a real body blow as a result of the foot and mouth crisis which severely hurt rural areas, including County Kerry where bed-nights had doubled over the past ten years. It is better to have rooms occupied and aircraft in the air, even at a low return. The alternative of having planes sitting on the tarmac and hotel doors closed represents a loss.

This is an opportunity for all of us to act together. The Government and those involved in the industry should put a strong effort into promoting tourism for the coming year, which will be a very trying time for this sector. That is already taking place in the United States, with flights on offer at $150 return from the US to Ireland. Last weekend, it was impossible to get a bed in Dublin, due to the influx of American tourists. Perhaps people in other parts of the country should take a leaf out of the book of the Dublin hoteliers and guesthouses, who offer very low cost accommodation for weekends. All opportunities should be explored.

Some people may not particularly like Mr. Michael O'Leary of Ryanair but he certainly has a dynamic approach. Perhaps we should take a leaf out of his book and involve him in the industry to a greater extent. He shows a capability of moving people from place to place at a low cost. I have suggested to the management of Kerry Airport that there should be closer contact with Mr. O'Leary with a view to getting his company to pick up some of the slack which has resulted from the difficulties in Aer Lingus.

It is a trying time but there is an opportunity to be grasped and I commend the moves which were initiated yesterday to promote this country on an all-island basis, with the guns and the terrorists put aside. Clearly, some dissident elements such as those who planted the bomb in Birmingham last week are not working in the interests of this country or its tourism industry. The tragic events of 11 September in the US represented one form of terrorism. The terrorism which has been at work in our own country must also be dealt with.

This is a time for a concerted approach to help our tourism industry to stay alive. County Kerry could not survive without tourism. I welcome the Government's announcement yesterday.

Tourism has always been the jewel in the crown of our economic renaissance and it has been regarded as something we could depend on. One of the reasons for its success, apart from the work of Bord Fáilte and the tourism industry in general, was that tourism is something we are very good at. We are very good at welcoming people and very anxious to show off what we are, to show off our heritage and to make visitors to Ireland feel they are having a special experience when they come here.

It would be wrong to think it was always a very easy journey for us, particularly in the context of the fall-out from the Northern Ireland problem. Over the past 30 years, many tourism campaigns in Ireland have faltered because of some incident which got international publicity. Those of us who have travelled abroad will be aware of the lack of knowledge about Ireland and the fear as to whether or not it was a safe destination for holidays. In that context, the launch of Tourism Ireland yesterday was a significant event, not just because it provides a new impetus for the industry at this very trying time but also because it sends out a very potent message that the whole island of Ireland is working together. Hopefully, the misinformation and lack of knowledge arising from the Northern Ireland problem will disappear. That has been one of the great difficulties for our industry and we should not underestimate it. It is to our credit that we were able to overcome that in previous years.

The events of 11 September in the USA have, undoubtedly, provided us with a new challenge but we must bear in mind that Ireland is not the only country facing that challenge. We have seen and heard of the difficulties which are being experienced in America and elsewhere. In an ironic way, we have a level playing pitch and we are very fortunate to have the infrastructure which we now have, on which to tackle this particular challenge. Over past years, we have built up a very loyal clientele of visitors who continue to come to this country, while at the same time breaking into new markets, particularly the continental market where Bord Fáilte and the tourism industry had an exceptionally fine advertising campaign. We have seen the results of that.

Significant events taking place in Ireland have also had a positive effect. For example, the world cup brought a substantial number of Italian visitors to this country and the Eurovision song contest also attracted huge attention, not just in terms of publicity but also because people want to savour the type of country which has been projected on their television screens.

We have, indeed, a challenge but it might be a particularly good time to take stock. People in the industry have been saying that, because of the mushrooming growth of elements of the infrastructure, we could always expect difficulties in terms of viability and maintenance. The view has also been expressed that perhaps we were killing the goose that laid the golden egg – that the very thing that made us attractive to tourists, i.e. making time to talk to people, was suffering because we were so anxious to make hay while the sun was shining, so to speak. It is important to identify and analyse both our strengths and the difficulties which were arising. Was there overcharging and were we making ourselves less competitive? Are there ways and means of offering the same service at a more realistic price? However, I do not suggest that, like for like, we have not been giving good value for money.

Many of those who invested in the development of the infrastructure have taken on huge capital debts and they certainly face a trying time ahead. It is not unreasonable to expect the banks to come to their aid. At present, money deposited in a bank may not even earn a 1% return, whereas interest on borrowings can be far above what is expected within the new European dimension. The banks should be partners in whatever is necessary to help the industry at this critical stage.

I expect that Tourism Ireland, with £21 million at its disposal, will do a good job but it is still very important that the work is done on the ground. Every county has a multitude of agencies, including local authorities, tourism committees, development committees and various other bodies. There is a strong case for pooling resources in the present exceptional circumstances, which, however, I will not describe as an emergency. The local agencies should come together to form a task force because that is where we will get the best value for money.

There is no point putting percentages on it, but I believe we will suffer next year. We need not be alarmist about it. It is appropriate to have this debate now, not in January, February or March. It is possible to address the difficulties we have. We must bear in mind that most people will want to go on holidays and get away from the pressures and trauma associated with the events of 11 September and many elements of the war that is taking place. Because we have an infrastructure, into which billions have been invested and which in many ways is the envy of other tourist destinations, because we are highlighting the difficulties that exist, because the Government is providing the leadership and above all because there is a very definite determination on the part of people and the industry not to let unravel that which has been built with significant expertise, effort and investment over the years, we are better positioned than any of the other countries that have exactly the same difficulties.

Some Senators mentioned the problem of transport and the number of seats available. However the position that exists now will not necessarily exist in two or three months' time because this is a very fast moving and evolutionary situation. From week to week the goalposts seem to change. We should focus on our strengths, define our goals and be careful to position ourselves in the developing new markets, which will come out of the current difficulties. We are well able to do that. We should not be alarmist, but we should be cautious.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Eoin Ryan, back to the House for this debate. The tourism industry faces serious difficulties at present. It is our second largest industry and it has expanded rapidly in recent years. We must be realistic, on the basis of what we know a downturn is expected in 2002. We should not merely accept that. We must try to head it off and take action to ensure this does not occur. To do that all the sectors in the industry, including the Hotels Federation, the Town and Country Homes Association, the bed and breakfast associations, the restaurants, pubs etc., need to be proactive within their organisations and work with the various development agencies, Bord Fáilte, Shannon Development and Tourism Ireland Limited. They must call on their resources to focus strongly on their ability to promote tourism. This will be much more difficult because of the increased competition for the market share from here, the UK and North America. There will be a significant increase in special offers so co-operation is vital.

The organisations and promoting agencies can do significant work, but given that Ireland is an island, access is needed. The Minister of State acknowledged the need for the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation and the Minister for Public Enterprise to work very closely. Unfortunately, in the past three weeks, we have seen no signs of the Department of Public Enterprise encouraging access into the country, particularly through Shannon Airport.

The tourism industry is critical to the economy of the west, from Cork to Donegal. American tourists are vital to that sector. Some 36% of air services into Shannon are transatlantic flights, whereas the figure for Dublin is only 7%. Some 40% of overseas expenditure in Clare originates from the US and other western counties would be similar. I accept that organisations will address the European market and promote strongly in Britain and the home market.

Senator Glennon referred earlier to "bums on seats". These are important but the ability of the tourist to spend on arrival is equally important. Although the number of tourists coming to the country in the first half of this year is down, the spend increased. We need to make a value judgment between quality and quantity. In recent years the type of tourist coming into Shannon was one with more money to spend. Given that the spend per capita has been increasing, it is vital to focus on that market.

The reduction of 68 flights per week through Shannon Airport is huge and will cause a major crisis, not just for tourism but also for industry in general. More than 10,000 fewer passengers per week will arrive through Shannon next year. Some 60% of those are leisure or tourist travellers. Those 6,000 tourists scatter right down to Cork and up to Donegal. The impact of their loss on the tourist economy of the west is critical and must be addressed. It is a national crisis. Many Dublin based people do not recognise the significance of this. I ask the Minister of State to address this issue with the Minister for Public Enterprise. Access is vital. If those people are not coming, spending will not take place.

Senator Quill referred to the fact that a loss of one million tourists next year will mean the loss of 20,000 jobs. We in the west do not want to be at the butt end of that and become the major victims of such a disaster. The responsibility rests very clearly with the Government to tackle that and ensure it does not happen.

I do not want to have a debate on Aer Lingus today, but as far as Shannon is concerned, we have a very jaundiced view of what is going on in Aer Lingus, particularly the way the axe has been swung through Shannon, while certain issues in Dublin have not been examined closely. I am not talking about flights, but about administration. Some 22 flights per week to and from the US will no longer travel though Shannon and a total of 68 flights have been lost. In addition, the latest flight from Dublin to Shannon in the evening will be at 3.15 p.m. Morning flights have been cancelled so that one cannot connect from Shannon to Dublin to get to mainland Europe.

The result of the recent decision by Aer Lingus to withdraw flights is that there are 16 cities in Europe to which one does not have one-day access from Shannon. The Minister has acquiesced in this despite the huge regional impact of such a decision. I do not say this for political purposes. I am trying to register the issue with the various Government Departments, but it is not registering. If and when it does it will be much too late.

The airports to which there will not be interline and same-day return from Shannon include those at Amsterdam, Brussels, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds, Bradford, Milan, Rome, Bristol, Frankfurt, London City and Munich. There is a more critical element to that from the point of view of the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation. Tourists from Europe and Britain will not be able to get to the region as the same number of flights will not be arriving at Shannon. We are squeezed from Europe and Britain and from America. The Minister has a responsibility to address this issue.

Shannon Development, West of Ireland Tourism and SFADCo have put together a tourism task force and are taking a very proactive approach. I welcome the fact that Shannon Development is taking the initiative at such an early date in setting up a task force. It involves the many interest groups and organisations. It is important that the Minister and his Department give every support to domestic and overseas tour operators and to the various agencies and organisations to ensure they are well represented at the tourism trade shows taking place throughout United States, Great Britain, Europe and here at home. They must be properly funded and provided with quality promotional literature. There is a great need to co-ordinate in terms of our various facilities. Promotion must be done jointly to create an attractive package for the potential tourist.

The keys to success in all of this are value for money and effective marketing of a quality product. We cannot get anywhere unless there is access. The word to be underlined is "access". If there are not a sufficient number of planes to carry the people who want to come in then we are going nowhere. Central to that is the Minister for Public Enterprise and I urge the Minister of State to communicate with her, otherwise these initiatives will not succeed.

We are all, sadly, too well aware of the disastrous consequences for tourism of the appalling and horrific events of 11 September last. As a small, open economy and an island nation we are totally dependent on the airlines, which have sadly suffered so much, to get our visitors in. It is also sad that we have been overly dependent on the American market. As a result of this and the foot and mouth disease crisis earlier in the year, the tourism industry could face losses of £500 million this year. There are a number of things which we can and should do to address this. I welcome the Minister of State to the House and I apologise to him for not being here for his opening address. He doubtless had some good news and, hopefully, he sees light at the end of the tunnel.

In terms of marketing there are two objectives I would like to hear from the Government on. The first thing to do is to create immediately a fund to support the extensive marketing needed to counteract the decrease in American visitors for the remainder of this year and for the next. The Irish Hotels Federation has made very strong representations, which I fully support, for an immediate fund of about £2.5 million for that purpose. The other, more important, issue is the creation of a special tourism recovery fund, for which the federation has called for £20 million to fund specific marketing activities. The point is made that these funds should be separate from the normal marketing funds granted on an annual basis through the Estimates. The money should be designated for initiatives that would have a measurable result.

The federation gives the examples of specific funding to support new air routes, the promotion of special offers by specific carriers and a strategic plan to achieve substantial incremental growth from some of our markets. For example, a plan to double the German market could be funded. Its present insignificant share is 0.28% which is 182,000 holiday visits out of a total of 62.2 million last year. I wonder if I am right in these figures. They are the figures I have been supplied with.

Another issue to address in the context of product marketing is our miserable performance in the conference sector. Dublin ranks as the twenty-fifth most desirable conference destination in Europe despite being its fourth most attractive short-break destination.

The question of access, particularly of low-cost access, is the most important one, given the likelihood that 500,000 fewer Americans will visit Ireland in 2002. We know how reluctant to travel the Americans are despite the exhortations of President Bush and others to get them back in the air. The airlines have been hit. As a result of the Gulf War it took two and a half years before they began to fly in significant numbers again. Hopefully that will not be the case this time.

As well as assisting the airlines we will have to be able to offer tremendous value for money. People in the business are prepared to accept a reduction in profits to get tourists to utilise what we have and to keep hotels open. They are prepared to be very realistic. Within the home holiday market we have seen success over the bank holiday weekend. It is very hard to take advantage of all the special offers at the moment because it is very hard to get into some hotels. That is because of the home holiday market, which is very important. It is imperative to retain jobs in the hotels. In my part of the world, in Kerry, there have been very significant job losses in the aftermath of 11 September. However, the hotels that are staying open offer tremendous value for money and, thankfully, over the bank holiday weekend they were full.

The immediate creation of a fund of £2.5 million to support additional marketing is needed. The creation of a special tourism recovery fund of £20 million to finance specific initiatives is absolutely necessary also. There is also a need for double tax relief for businesses participating in approved joint tourism marketing initiatives. I would like to ask the Minister about the request that was made for a 25% rebate of local authority rates for hotels and guesthouses for the year 2001 and 2002 where turnover in the last quarter of 2001 or the first quarter in 2002 falls by not less than 15%. This was conceded in the North of Ireland last spring. That is worthy of inclusion in some of the measures which I hope the Government will adopt.

Those who made the request are very concerned about the reduction or harmonisation of VAT. They believe – and I support them – that the VAT rate for hotels and restaurants should be less than 10%. Perhaps the Minister of State will address this in his response. I understand we have one of the highest, if not the highest, levels of VAT in Europe in the tourism sector.

We are all concerned. Nobody wants to denigrate our economy, but as a small, open economy we were sadly over-dependent on the American market. We are aware of what we must do and I hope the Government will take all the appropriate and specific steps necessary to improve matters, given the setbacks we have suffered. We need to support all carriers proactively to help increase the number of tourists visiting Ireland.

I welcome the opportunity to say a few words on tourism and the current state of play in that industry. To reiterate the Minister's penultimate sentence, "We have had nine uninterrupted years of growth in Irish tourism." That is a fantastic record. But for foot and mouth disease and the tragedy of 11 September, we could realistically have hoped for a tenth year. I hope this is but a blip in what has been a great success story. Although the industry has been successful for nine years, we can take nothing for granted because of external factors, nor can we can take anything for granted nationally.

This nation is still not sufficiently litter conscious. One of the great criticisms by tourists and visitors – even Irish tourists going from place to place – is that we lack standards where litter and street cleansing are concerned and that we lack an appreciation of the environment. Also criticised is the fact that it is still considered acceptable to wind down the window of a car and throw out a cigarette packet. Sufficient numbers are not conscious that this is pollution of a dreadful kind. I am thankful that younger people are more conscious of this. They criticise their parents when they dump their cigarette butts.

I was very irate to get a litter fine from Wexford County Council a few months ago. When I questioned why, it turned out that someone, whom I will not name, had borrowed my car one Tuesday when I was in Brussels doing what the Irish people had elected me to do and had been smoking a cigarette in the car – those who know me would realise how much even that annoys me. The person in question got out of the car and extinguished the butt on the quay in Enniscorthy. It was spotted by a litter warden, who checked the registration of the car. I ended up paying £50 for the pleasure of littering with a cigarette butt, and I am one of the most avid anti-smokers in these Houses. There is a certain irony in that, apart from how annoyed I was.

Would that we had more consciousness of the damage that litter is doing to our economy and the vision of Ireland as a green, clean, environmentally attractive country to visit. Other nationalities are very litter conscious. Let us preserve and protect our environment because it is still our top seller, along with the hospitality and friendliness of the Irish people. We must ensure this is preserved too. We have been put under a little pressure in this respect in recent years because it has been difficult to get sufficient people to work in our hotels, guesthouses and pubs. Perhaps people under pressure were not offering a service quite as friendly as that which was offered in the days when they had plenty of time to stop and chat when handing back change. Unfortunately, success has caused this. We must ensure we still have the welcome word as well as the service – it is most important.

The recent announcements on coastal zone management are worth noting. It is a very important issue, which will add to the attractiveness of Ireland as a tourist destination. I commend that. Coming from a coastal zone in County Wexford and having been a member of Wexford County Council for over 20 years, I know the debate on coastal zone management was very alive there in past years. We have talked for 20 years about coastal zone management, but have done precious little. I hope this is not just another announcement or more hype, of which nothing will come. We must manage our coastline in conjunction with local authorities and we do not need Brussels to tell us how to do it. That is the next thing that will emerge if we do not get up off our you-know-whats and do it ourselves. We have a beautiful coastline that contributes enormously to the attractiveness of the country from the perspective of both national and international tour ists, and we must manage it properly. Integrated management of our coastal zone in vital.

Sports tourism is an industry we must laud, because it too has made a contribution over the years. I understand angling is on top of the list in terms of attracting overseas visitors. Also, the development of our golf courses and the accessibility of the sport in terms of price are things of which I am very proud. In continental Europe, unless one is in the top income bracket, one cannot enjoy golf as we can here. Let us ensure we keep it accessible.

Equestrian sports also have a role to play – the list is endless. Ireland is a wonderful destination for sports tourists. I congratulate the sports tourism section of Bord Fáilte for its recent initiatives in this area. May it go from strength to strength.

I welcome the announcement made in Belfast yesterday regarding the creation of Tourism Ireland and I wish Mr. Paul O'Toole and all his staff every success with their responsibility for the international marketing of this island from next year onwards. I also read that CERT and Bord Fáilte are to be integrated into a new national tourism development authority. CERT has been one of our relatively unsung successes also. There was much demand for the series of courses it ran, which trained people to cater for the demand that was created because of the increase in our tourism revenue in recent years. On the back of the success of our tourism figures, CERT was under enormous pressure to deliver well-trained young people to service the tourism industry. It has done an excellent job under much pressure and its contribution down through the years must be acknowledged. It was very welcome.

I was welcomed as a tourist into the Seanad a little while ago by a colleague, who shall remain nameless. If that title is correct it probably qualifies me as well as anybody in this House, if not more than most, to comment on access to this island.

We do not discriminate against tourists.

I thank the Deputy. He lets me in regularly. I go every Monday but he lets me back every weekend. I am extremely conscious in my relatively new role as an MEP of how important access transport is. One pays one's money and gets one's service, or one does not, as the case may be. The costs incurred by Aer Lingus have been under scrutiny for some time, and rightly so. A question must be asked about its productivity when compared with other airlines. Quite frankly, I would not like to be sentenced to a low-cost airline as my only choice to get to and from this island. I congratulate Michael O'Leary and all those in Ryanair – without the competition of Ryanair we would be paying even more for Aer Lingus services than we are today. We need both kinds of airline – we need a quality airline with service if people wish to pay for it, but they should pay a realistic price, not a ransom. Also, we need a low-cost airline for those who want it. People can buy their tickets, board the plane, find their own seats and get no service. When one is on a one-hour flight, one does not need any service, more often than not – let us be honest. A balance must be had but, above all, competition is important.

Yesterday, Zaventem airport in Brussels was closed because Sabena went into bankruptcy and most of the baggage-handling staff and ground staff were provided by that airline. There was an immediate crisis and the airport closed fully for 24 hours. Since it is a major European hub, the spin-off was critical.

As I had to be back in Ireland for a meeting this afternoon at 3 o'clock, I had a flight booked with Aer Lingus for this morning. However, as neither it nor any other airline could fly from Brussels yesterday and Aer Lingus could not guarantee last night that it would be flying today, I decided to book a flight with Ryanair to be sure I would get home in time for my meeting in Dublin. As it happened, Aer Lingus flew and I returned on the flight at 10.10 this morning. I logged on to the Ryanair website and priced the ticket I thought I would need. It was about £80 and I took it because I had to ensure I would get home. When I went to pay for that ticket later, it had risen from £80 plus taxes to €239. I am still trying to decide whether that was clever business on behalf of Ryanair because there was no competition and it was the only airline flying from Brussels to Dublin yesterday – I warn the Minister what might happen in future if there is no competition – or whether it was smart practice because of the lack of competition. Perhaps the company was clever and took advantage of a hostage situation in that we had no option but to fly with it. I am not sure. I leave it with the Minister as something which must be monitored closely.

I applaud Ryanair's success and profitability. There is a huge lesson to be learned about what can be done. The underlying message is that we need competition, but people may want the tremendous service we have received from Aer Lingus. As someone who has used the company almost every week and often twice a week for the past two and a half years, I applaud the service Aer Lingus in Brussels gives those of us who spend our working week there and how the staff will bend over backwards to cater not just for politicians working in Brussels but everyone using the city as a hub to access Dublin. They get a wonderful service from the staff in Brussels. I do not know the staff in Dublin as well because it is a much larger operation and a different person deals with me every time I go. There is a core Aer Lingus staff in Brussels who provide all Members of the European Parliament, Council of Europe members, Ministers and people from all parties with a service that is second to none.

We cannot breach any Commission rules or be anti-competitive. One has only to look at Sabena in that regard. That is a tragedy, and this was brought home especially when one saw all the people involved with it in tears at the airport this morning and the distress not only of staff but also of passengers who could not get out because of the number of flights that had disappeared. When one sees the tragedy of Sabena, it underlines the fact that we must do what we can within the rules for Aer Lingus. Access to this island will be a much more difficult and much less pleasant experience if Aer Lingus suffers the same tragedy as Sabena. I sincerely hope that we manage, within the rules of competition, which are laid down in the treaties and which successive Councils of Ministers have endorsed, and with the help of investment from the private sector, to ensure a competitive, productive future for Aer Lingus because its service is second to none. Perhaps we need less frills and more rationalisation with other airlines. Let us do what we can so that Ryanair and Aer Lingus and similar airlines can operate side by side. The consumer will be the winner if that happens.

I welcome the Minister to the House. It makes a pleasant change to see a Minister of State present for the full debate. It is an example to some of his colleagues and emphasises his commitment to his Department, along with that of the Minister, Deputy McDaid, who is in the north of the country today.

I welcome the establishment yesterday of Tourism Ireland Limited which is the new company for marketing Ireland on an all-island basis. It was launched by the Minister, Deputy McDaid, along with the Northern Ireland Ministers, Reg Empey and Seán Farren. I wish the company's chief executive, Paul O'Toole, and all his staff the best in the months and years ahead, especially at a time when tourism is suffering a rough ride and has got quite a buffeting. The foot and mouth disease was bad enough but we made the best of it despite the obvious difficulties and staged a fair comeback, by and large, because of our success in keeping it out.

We face an even greater challenge since 11 September, especially given that the north American market has taken a massive hammering. It will be difficult in the short term to recover the lost ground. That said, the challenge exists and must be faced by the industry. I hope the Minister and his Department, supported by the industry, will take various necessary measures to pursue other markets and areas to meet the challenge. There is no reason we cannot do so. As good as the industry is, there are areas which remain untapped.

There is an area we must examine and it is apt given that the euro will shortly be introduced and people will be able to compare prices much more easily. Tourists from euro zone countries will no longer have to convert from francs, Deutschmarks and pesetas to Irish pounds to work out the cost of goods and services. In this regard, we must examine value for money. When one sees two weeks in Portugal and Spain for two adults and two children advertised at a certain price, one must ask if it would be much more expensive for the same number of people to go on holiday in Ireland, staying in one place or many and doing roughly the same things. In some areas, one would pay a great deal more and we must see what can be done in this regard.

The industry must examine itself and try to attract people from markets outside the traditional ones. Such markets would be European and Scandinavian markets and beyond to Australia and South Africa. We must also examine aiming at the domestic market. The industry does not give value for money in certain areas. I spoke with someone recently who rang a hotel for a weekend break and asked for the price. They were told £200 whereas the same hotel advertised weekend breaks in the paper for £150. Even when this was brought to their attention, the people in the hotel would not give the person the lower price. The industry must respond positively.

There are areas where things have gone over the top in terms of prices. One such area is restaurants wherein some one can spend between £12 and £14 on a starter, £27 and £32 on a main course and a few pounds more on vegetables and chipped potatoes. One eventually reaches the point where one asks if one should buy a share in the place rather than just one meal. It is such areas we must examine if we are pricing ourselves out of the market. There is value for money in some areas but people in other areas have had it good for so long they think can charge what they like. That must be examined.

Several Members referred to visitors to this country who do not use a car during their holidays. There is no doubt the transport system in some areas leaves a great deal to be desired. Either Senator Henry or Senator Quill mentioned the Dublin to Sligo line which I had the misfortune to take on one occasion. It was like the last train to Calcutta. It was very crowded and, while we were fortunate to get a seat, others, including elderly people, had to stand for almost the entire journey.

Did the Senator not stand up for them?

We must examine the development of our transport infrastructure. I do not know if the Minister will reply to the debate, but I hope he will bring what he has heard in the debate to the Department.

Senator Doyle referred to air travel. There is no doubt that if people can get to a destination relatively cheaply, it encourages them to travel more often. Whatever one may think of the services it provides, Ryanair has certainly brought about a revolutionary trend in the area of air fares although I note that a person was recently charged for bringing a wheelchair on board. The trend towards lower air fares is to be welcomed as we must do all we can to encourage more people to visit Ireland.

Sports tourism, be it golfing, equestrian or racing breaks, must be exploited. One could not buy the publicity offered through the success of events such as the Punchestown festival and major golfing tournaments – Ireland is due to host the Ryder Cup in 2005. When people see these events, they are encouraged to visit the country. When we see events such as Royal Ascot and Cheltenham on the television, we may consider visiting those locations.

I wish the Minister of State well. There is no doubt that tourism is undergoing a difficult period. If approached in the correct way, however, these difficulties can be overcome. At the end of the day, we must provide value for money. That will be even more important with the advent of the euro and increased competition.

I thank Senators for their contributions to this debate on a very important element of our economy which extends into every village, town and city throughout the country. The tourism industry is undergoing a very difficult time and there are big challenges ahead in 2002. If we approach the issue in a positive manner, we will go a long way towards meeting those challenges.

A number of Senators referred to sports tourism. In the past, there was a sports tourism grant for sports people but that was changed due to a change in emphasis in Bord Fáilte's campaigns. The issue could be re-examined now. Sports tourism, be it golfing, fishing or horse racing, is a major element of our tourism marketing abroad. As Senator Cosgrave mentioned, Ireland will host the Ryder Cup in 2005.

Senator Coghlan referred to our poor performance in the German market. The German economy has been relatively sluggish in recent years and, unfortunately, there is a perception in Germany and elsewhere that Ireland is losing its traditional image. Bord Fáilte is aware of this and is currently targeting niche markets within Germany to expand the numbers visiting the country.

VAT is an issue for the Minister for Finance. Many Senators referred to access to Ireland and the importance of aviation policies. It is important that people can avail of low cost fares into the country through airlines such as Ryanair. Low fares are a very important aspect of the tourism industry and I am certain Aer Lingus will also play an important role in this sector in the future.

Senator Costello referred to the desirability of providing free travel for old age pensioners throughout the island. There is free travel for pensioners in the South and I believe this is also available in the North. We can consider extending the free travel on an island-wide basis.

On the launching of the product scheme, the Department's view is that the scheme is being held up by the Commission which is examining terms for State aid. There has been a great deal of consultation on this matter in which the Minister has been very active. He has pushed the Commission to make a decision and this is expected before the end of the year. The scheme will enhance the range of products on offer within the industry.

Voluntary bodies and activities, such as the Tidy Towns Competition and local festivals, greatly enhance our tourism product. I agree with Senators it is important we have a good rail service throughout the country. Many of the current problems will be addressed as a result of major investment in the rail network.

The difficulties facing the tourism industry are unprecedented. The global scenario has yet to play itself out and there is no doubt that the Irish tourism industry will face great challenges in 2002. There are no quick solutions to these problems. Cool heads are needed, together with radical and innovative thinking. Flexibility will be a key element in the way we plan for 2002. While this has been a very difficult year, the industry's resolve, our range of products and the development of the new tourism body will combine to deliver the best possible outcome in 2002. Again, I thank Senators and assure them I will report the issues raised and views expressed to the Department.

When is it proposed to sit again?

Next Wednesday at 11 a.m.

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