asked the Minister for Tourism and Transport the plans if any his Department have for assuming responsibility for the development and monitoring of a national tourism policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

17.

asked the Minister for Tourism and Transport if the Government have yet considered the Price Waterhouse report into the Irish tourism industry which was published in October 1987; if the Government accept the findings of the report; the action, if any, to be taken arising from the report; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

19.

asked the Minister for Tourism and Transport if he sees a future for Bord Fáilte in their present form; the plans, if any, he has to change their terms of reference; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

25.

asked the Minister for Tourism and Transport the current timetable in the preparation of the five year plan for tourism development; and when it will be published and brought before the Dáil.

27.

asked the Minister for Tourism and Transport his views on the findings of the Price Waterhouse report on Irish tourism; when he will act on the recommendations he favours; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

I propose, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to take Questions Nos. 6, 17, 19, 25 and 27, together.

The general thrust of the analysis and policy recommendations in the Price Waterhouse report in the three critical areas of product development, competitiveness and marketing are totally consistent with Government policy for the tourism sector as already outlined by me in this House on many occasions. The specific policy recommendations in the report are at present being examined in my Department. These recommendations and the views of all sectors of the industry in both written and oral submissions to my Department will be taken into account in the development programme for the Irish tourist industry which I intend to publish shortly. This programme will specify appropriate roles and structures for public sector agencies involved in Irish tourism including those for Bord Fáilte and my Department.

Can the Minister tell us how soon he will be in a position to present a long range plan with clear objectives, supported by this programme, that include identifying the markets and determining whether the concentration will be on a vertical market or a horizontal market. In other words, will the concentration be on the specialised type of holiday or the general holiday? Can the Minister let us know how it is proposed to maximise the return on the scarce resources in these areas of investment?

I already have a draft of my five year plan and I am seeking the consideration of Price Waterhouse of that draft. As I said in the substance of my answer, the product that we have, its competitiveness and the way we market it require special attention.

It is under those headings that the Deputy's second question falls, namely, what type of product are we going to emphasise. We are going to emphasise very strongly the special interest holidays because this area has been neglected. There is a general belief that an attempt has been made to sell Ireland in too general a way and for that reason there will be strong concentration on specifics in our new programme.

There is a better way.

The Minister in his global reply indicated that he is about to produce a five year plan. The thrust of some of these questions is very specific and I would like the Minister to answer them. Does he agree in broad terms with the findings of the Price Waterhouse report? That is asked in Question No. 27. This report is very explicit in its criticism of the tourist industry and more specifically of the operations of Bord Fáilte. What are the Minister's views on that aspect of the report?

My reply was more than full with regard to that. The Price Waterhouse report deals with product development, competitiveness and marketing. I indicated to the House on broad lines, quoting the Deputy in his supplementary, that I am in agreement with what is contained in the report. The five year programme will concentrate on those areas.

So far as product development is concerned, not only will we improve the product as we have it now but we will also expand it horizontally so that we will have more products to sell. Access transport is one of the big factors in competitiveness. We have been hammering away at that since early in the year and with some considerable success. I hope that as a result of the Council of Ministers for Transport we will have even more competitive access transport in the coming year. The third area deals with marketing. Deputy Taylor-Quinn touched on the type of marketing. While serving a purpose the green isle marketing and the generalised marketing are no longer adequate to sell the product as we have it now.

With reference——

I am sorry Deputy there is a number of Deputies involved and I want to bring them in in the order in which they appear to be offering.

We tabled Question No. 25.

I appreciate that Deputy. Deputy Joe Sherlock.