Tourism is one of Ireland's most important indigenous industries. It is a huge employer, particularly down the country. It is so important to all sorts of businesses around the country. There are 6.4 million overseas visitors into Ireland, bringing €5.5 million into Ireland. We have Dublin in the middle of that, which is a very popular destination. I want to touch on the tourism levy, which I support. It is important we use and develop the offering in Dublin from a tourism perspective. I have raised it here before. I know it has been discussed in this Chamber and elsewhere in recent times. Ireland is a bit of an outlier at the moment, particularly when it comes to capital cities. For a capital city like Dublin, 21 out of 27 EU member states have some form of a tourism levy and I think Dubliners would be very supportive of it. Perhaps the fact they would not be paying it would help but they pay it when they travel to other countries and other capital cities in Europe. I think there is strong support for its introduction. Dublin City Council has estimated it would raise between €15 million and €20 million, which could be reinvested in local infrastructure. We are talking a small charge of probably €2 a head for a night in a hotel or maybe something of the order of €3. It is common and it happens everywhere. People understand the concept and think it is a fair ask. We could reinvest that money in infrastructure to improve the tourism offering across the city and beyond. I understand Fáilte Ireland is commissioning research on existing tourist levies across Europe in line with the recommendations of the Dublin City Task Force. As others have mentioned, I am delighted to see tourism under the Minister's brief because it is an economic activity and it is important it is treated like that and is developed. An oversight board led by the Department is already in place to oversee its implementation. We just need to get on with it now, get Government support confirmed and do it. I am very supportive of that and hope the Minister and his Department will progress it. I just want to mention the regional development of tourism within Dublin city. In my area on the northside, we have Clontarf, Howth, which is an old fishing port with a fantastic tourism offering, Ireland's Eye, the Casino in Marino and Bram Stoker's house in Fairview. There is so much to see and do within Dublin, which is not just in the city centre. There are the mountains on the southern side of Dublin also. A regional strategy within Dublin which tries to target promotion and resources in some way would be very welcome and worth pursuing. Others have mentioned the short-term lets issue. In the interests of fairness, somebody who has been operating an Airbnb for seven years or more, they are doing that well and professionally. It is not a big issue in terms of accommodation if they are left to continue to do that. That is an economic activity from a tourism perspective. They do exist in Dublin. They do exist on the northside. We need to make sure that they are afforded the opportunity to keep doing that.

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