Archive for July 27, 2012
Three million overseas visits to Ireland in first half of 2012 – Varadkar
Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar has welcomed the 0.7% rise in visitors to Ireland revealed today in the latest tourism figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The CSO confirmed that nearly three million (2,982,400) people visited Ireland during the first six months of the year, and that visitor numbers rose by 0.7% from April to June.
“These latest figures show that everyone’s efforts are paying off in the face of continuing economic uncertainty in most of our major overseas markets.
“We are working with Tourism Ireland to sell Ireland overseas as a visitor destination, and with Fáilte Ireland to continually strengthen our product. I remain confident that we will deliver growth during 2012 for this vital industry,” Minister Varadkar said.
The CSO reports that:
Visits from mainland Europe were up 3.8% for April-June at 0.67 million, and up 0.9% for the first half of 2012 at 1.06 million visits; Visits from the rest of the world, mostly long-haul and developing markets, totalled 0.17 million for the first half up 6.8%, and were up 11.9% to 104,000 for April-June; Trips from North America were down 1.8% for the first half to 0.45 million but up 0.6% for the second quarter to 0.3 million; However, visits from Great Britain were down 1.1% for January-June to 1.3 million and down 3.4% for the second quarter to 0.735 million.
Alan Shatter, TD, Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence reports on work done during first 16 months of Government
A message from Minister Alan Shatter…
“My ambition is that, at the end of the Government’s term in office, we will be seen as the most radical reformist government in the history of the State. I am determined in my privileged role as Minister in two great Departments – Justice and Equality and the Department of Defence – to fully play my part. Being a member of a Cabinet composed of talented colleagues who are committed to public service, to restoring our economic sovereignty and getting our people back to work is truly a privilege. That is the difference between our Government led by An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny and the Fianna Fail led governments of yesteryear. Since I was appointed Minister on the 9 March 2011, I have enacted 11 separate pieces of legislation and an additional 12 Bills are at advanced stages of drafting. In addition, I have prioritised reform across a number of areas to improve efficiency, reduced costs and protect the frontline. I hope that this document serves as a useful resource as well as providing an insight into the work done during the past 16 months.”
Revised oil estimates a good opportunity to harmonise fiscal policy for oil and gas industry –
Fine Gael TD for Cork South West, Noel Harrington, has today (Friday) described Providence Ireland’s revised estimates for oil found in an oil field off the coast of Cork, as an opportunity to harmonise the fiscal policy for the oil industry.
“I welcome the news that the potential for oil in Cork is much greater than was previously forecast by Providence Ireland. I understand that it will take some time to realise the full potential of the oil field, but it will significantly increase the confidence of the oil and gas exploration industry with the news that there is greater potential for exploration here.
“I also believe that this is an opportune time to assess the taxation regime for the oil and gas industry. As a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, we produced a working paper on how to improve the fiscal regime for Ireland in the energy field. “It is imperative that we achieve a balance between attracting the exploration industry to Ireland and charging royalties for any oil or gas they find. This paper has been submitted to Minster Rabbitte for consideration and I hope that we can all come together to find a solution that is mutually beneficial to all parties involved.”