Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 May 2010
63 Deputy Seymour Crawford asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport the meetings she has had or plans to have with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment from the Northern Ireland Assembly in relation to tourism; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20430/10]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware, tourism was specifically identified in the Good Friday Agreement as a one of the key areas for North/South cooperation, and consequently it is one of the sectors on which the North/South Ministerial Council meets in Sectoral format. The Council meets in this format in order to make decisions on common policies and approaches in the area of tourism. It also takes decisions on policies and actions to be implemented by Tourism Ireland Limited, a publicly owned limited company established to promote the island of Ireland overseas as a tourist destination. There are also a number of other areas where there is ongoing cooperation between tourism agencies and Government Departments north and south.
In terms of recent meetings between the respective Ministers with responsibility for tourism, there have been a total of nine North/South Ministerial Council meetings in Tourism Sectoral format. The most recent one took place on the 16th December last when my predecessor, Mr Martin Cullen, T.D. met with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland, Ms Arlene Foster MLA, in Clogher, County Tyrone. Amongst the items discussed at this meeting was the challenging environment for tourism globally, Tourism Ireland's Business Plan for 2010 and a new marketing action plan which is designed to ensure that visitor numbers from Great Britain to the island of Ireland return to growth in the short term. The next North/South Ministerial Council meeting in Tourism Sectoral format is scheduled for the 16th June next. I look forward to meeting my counterpart, Minister Foster, at this meeting and to discussing areas of ongoing cooperation that can deliver continued benefits to the tourism industry on the island of Ireland.
