I acknowledge and welcome the announcement of a €300,000 boost for Dublin city centre tourism projects announced earlier today by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Leo Varadkar.

Some €300,000 is being allocated, from Fáilte Ireland's capital investment programme, for these two projects in Dublin.

Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?

I do. Three quarters of overseas visitors stay in Dublin at some point during their trip to Ireland and tourism is worth over €1 billion to the local economy of Dublin.

I support the call made by Senators Feargal Quinn and John Crown for a debate on energy requirements, future plans, costs, etc. I was disappointed to hear Senator Feargal Quinn state our energy costs were among the highest in the European Union. I call for a debate on the issues of supply and demand, interconnectors and so on.