After spending the morning at this year’s Web Summit, Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Tourism and Transport Timmy Dooley commented, “The real stupidity of Ged Nash’s suggestion that the Web Summit should repay financial support they’ve received from Government really only strikes you when you spend some time observing at close quarters the scale and quality of the event.
“Minister Nash is clearly unhappy that an insufficient fuss has been made of him personally in the past, but he should really take the initiative and go and see what is happening in the RDS. If he had managed during all his time as Minister of Business and Employment to go and visit the Web Summit, he would have seen an event that brings some of the most senior decision makers in the industry into our city and puts Ireland front of mind for entrepreneurs across the world. But he didn’t, and instead of fighting to keep the Web Summit in Ireland, the Minister for Business and Employment chooses petulance and asks for his money back because the organiser told the truth about his Government.
“Even as 40,000 Web Summit visitors circulate in our city, bringing millions of euro in investment and tourist spending with them, Government ministers still can’t see past their own ego and realise the loss this event’s departure represents.
“The Minister’s intemperate comments today highlight just how arrogant and how out of touch Fine Gael and Labour have become. They should be focussed on learning from their mistakes instead of attacking the people bringing potential investors and driving tourism traffic in the country,” concluded Deputy Dooley.
