asked the Minister for Tourism and Transport when he will produce the medium-term five year programme for the development of the tourist industry which was promised by the Taoiseach in his address to the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation on 30 November 1987.

The Programme for National Recovery published by the Government in 1987 set out specific targets for the tourism industry over the five years to 1992. These are to create an extra 25,000 jobs; attract an additional £500 million of foreign tourist revenue and to double the number of foreign tourist visitors. The policy measures by which these targets are to be achieved are also set out in the programme. All initiatives taken by the Government since we took office have been and will continue to be fully consistent with these.

We have almost completed the first two years of the programme and the Deputy will no doubt be glad to hear that we are on line to achieve our targets; 12,000 jobs have been created, foreign tourism revenue has incresed by almost £190 million and the number of foreign visitors is up by almost 30 per cent on 1986.

In view of the fact that the Taoiseach's undertaking to produce a medium term programme for tourism and an action plan was made after the publication of the Programme for National Recovery, will the Minister now confirm that there is no such plan in his Department and that the tourist industry, who were led to expect this plan by the Taoiseach in Kilmainham on 27 November, can now expect no such plan in relation to tourism?

I do not accept what the Deputy said. There is hardly a clearer or more specific plan with specific objectives in existence in the economic sphere at present.

What about targets?

I will repeat what I said already. The three main points in the plan are to create an extra 25,000 jobs, to attract an additional £500 million of foreign tourist revenue and to double the number of foreign tourist visitors. The Government took action in 1987 and 1988 which has proved more than successful in the tourism field. I was speaking to the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation recently and they did not feel that the strategy which I laid down had to be written out. They fully absorbed it, fully backed it and are contented with it.

Every tourist interest, including the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation, who have spoken to me said that they wished to have a plan——

I thought the Deputy had a question.

The Government have a "wish" list of targets but it will remain so. Why did the Taoiseach promise a plan?

That disposes of ordinary and priority questions today.

I wish to raise on the Adjournment the refusal of the chief executive officer of the ESB to negotiate with the ESB officers' association——

I will communicate with the Deputy.