I wish to raise the issue of tourism, in particular how we gather tourism data. Members will be aware that the Central Statistics Office collects and publishes tourism figures. The figures for 2025 have not been positive. The figures published last week showed that from January to September this year there were 4.85 million foreign visitors. This compares with 5.24 million foreign visitors in the same period last year. Expenditure so far this year by tourists was €5.7 billion, down from €6.6 billion at the same time last year, a drop of 13%. There was a decrease in the amount spent on accommodation from €2 billion to €1.7 billion, a fall of 15%.

If accurate, these figures would be extremely concerning. However, operators in the industry are having a different experience. Eoghan O'Mara Walsh, CEO of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation, said the CSO figures do not tally with the experience of the industry. He said that, so far this year, it is flat or down marginally. I have spoken to operators in Galway and throughout the country who have said the same thing.

As Members are aware, tourism is a vital industry for our economy and for tens of thousands of small businesses throughout the country involving hundreds of thousands of employees. It is essential we have good quality, reliable data. There have been some suggestions from those in the tourism industry that the CSO figures may have overstated in 2024, which would explain why the 2025 figures show a dramatic decline. The CSO has insisted its figures were and are accurate. Whatever the case, we need clarity on it. We need to be able to have confidence in these numbers. I would be grateful if the Leader of the House would raise this with the Minister, Deputy Burke, and request he joins us to talk through the issue.