National anthem copyright
Senator Conway supports discussing legislation concerning copyright in the national anthem and calls for a tourism debate before the Seanad term ends.
The Bill referred to by Senator Mark Daly is an interesting one. I did not realise that the copyright had run out on the national anthem. I was not even aware copyright was applicable to national anthems. The Bill is worthy of discussion by the Whips and I propose to suggest same to Senator Paul Coghlan.
I would also welcome a debate in this House on tourism, preferably before the end of term of this Seanad. We are all aware of the significant achievements in the past five years of this Administration and the people of Ireland in terms of tourism, including the development of the Irish inter-county marketing strategy and allied to it, The Gathering, which was remarkably successful and probably set the tone in terms of how we should market Ireland into the future. I ask the Deputy Leader to request the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, to come to this House for a debate on tourism and in that context the development of a further Gathering, perhaps, in 2018. The Gathering was followed up with the Wild Atlantic Way which has also been hugely successful. When one hears the people of County Donegal speak about the benefits of the Wild Atlantic Way in a similar vein to that of people of west Cork and all counties in between Donegal and Cork, there is no doubt but that it has driven tourism, enterprise and job creation in the country. The issue is worthy of debate.