Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 April 2014
270. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide in tabular form the number of direct and indirect tourism jobs by county for the south east and Munster; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18371/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra271. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide in tabular form the value of the tourism industry in the south east and Munster on a county basis for the past ten years; the projected value for the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18372/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 270 and 271 together.
The collection and publication of official statistics is primarily a matter for the Central Statistics Office (CSO), which falls under the aegis of the Department of the Taoiseach. The most recent CSO Quarterly National Household Survey, in February, reported that seasonally adjusted employment among accommodation and food providers increased by 17,300 to 137,100 from the fourth quarter of 2012 to the equivalent period in 2013. That is an increase of 14.4% in the year to Quarter 4 2013. The CSO does not provide a county breakdown of statistics and these are not compiled separately by my Department or Fáilte Ireland. I am not, therefore, in a position to provide a breakdown of tourism jobs by county for the South East and Munster as requested. In addition to the 137,100 jobs recorded in the QNHS, Fáilte Ireland estimates that total tourism employment when other parts of the sector such as conferencing, attractions and festivals are included is now close to 200,000.
The CSO Tourism and Travel Statistics record revenue figures from overseas markets. The 2013 figures, released at the end of March, show that spending in Ireland by overseas visitors (excluding fares) for 2013 rose by 11.9% to €3.262 billion compared with 2012. The CSO does not provide a regional breakdown of statistics in their monthly 'Tourism and Travel' publication.
I am aware that Fáilte Ireland provides an estimated regional breakdown of overseas and domestic revenue on an annual basis, based on its own research and available CSO statistics. These and other regional statistics are easily accessible in the research section of the Fáilte Ireland website www.failteireland.ie under Regional Statistics and Reports.
