The Dublin Lord Mayor and the mayors of three other Dublin councils have criticised Fáilte Ireland for what they claim is an attempt to "muzzle" them over the future of Dublin Tourism.
In the joint statement Cllr Michael Conaghan, Cllr Niamh Bhreathnach, Cllr Peter Coyle, Cllr Robert Dowds, said that Fáilte Ireland is taking about a report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) which suggested that Dublin Tourism be incorporated into Failte Ireland as a fait accompli.
According to Cllr Conaghan this makes "little sense" as Dublin is continuing to climb the European table of top destinations and Dublin Tourism is performing its task excellently.
He said while the PWC report recommends that dismantling of Dublin Tourism, the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, John O'Donoghue has not yet seen the report.
A spokeswoman for Fáilte Ireland said the organisation welcomed an "open and constructive debate" on the findings of the report and the organisation has agreed to interact with representatives of Dublin Tourism. "Suggesting that we are muzzling people is just a smokescreen for what needs to be done", she said.
She added that an independent three-person panel would conduct a series of meetings over the next couple of weeks between the Dublin region on the findings of the PwC report. This panel, comprises of John Power, ceo of Irish Hotels Federation; economic consultant Paul Tansey and John Travers, chairman of Tourism Policy Review Group.
The PwC report was carried out under the terms of the Tourism Policy Review Group which examined, among other things, the operation of the regional tourism agencies. The Minsiter's spokeswoman said the report would go to the Minister early next week.