Sir, - I refer to the letter of August 13th from Mr Donal Hennessy of New Ross, Co Wexford, in relation to his parents' phone call to Bord Failte's headquarters on the bank holiday weekend, seeking holiday information. He complains that they received a recorded message only, which advised that further tourism information was available from the Information Line at 1550 11 22 33, and that, in view of the fact that it was a bank holiday weekend, a better service should have been available.
While we regret that Mr Hennessy's parents met with frustration, having rung Bord Failte's head office after business hours on that Friday evening, his letter nevertheless provides us with an opportunity to advise the public of the Tourist Information Office network, of which they may not be aware as we would wish. This briefly is as follows.
Bord Failte, as the official state agency whose primary responsibility is the overseas marketing of Irish tourism, does not directly operate the Tourist Information Office network in Ireland. That function is carried out by the six regional tourism organisations (and Shannon Development in its own catchment area). Their offices are open to the public beyond office hours daily, including weekends, throughout the summer months.
Mr Hennessy's parents should rightly have contacted, or visited, their local tourist information office, rather than call Bord Failte's headquarters in Dublin. In all, there are 92 tourist information offices open throughout the country.
As we do not have a forwarding address for Mr Hennessy, we hold a complete range of Irish holiday literature for his parents. We will be pleased to send this to him if he would care to contact me direct at my office. Yours, etc.,
Corporate Affairs Department,
Bord Failte,
Baggot Street Bridge,
Dublin 2.