Up to £10 million will be made available for a campaign to reassure tourists in light of the foot-and-mouth crisis, the Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation has said.
Bord Failte had estimated £10 million would be needed for the campaign, and it has allocated £3 million from its resources, asking the Exchequer for the remaining £7 million.
The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, gave his formal sanction for £5 million funding from the Government. The possibility of a further £2 million allocation will be reviewed in two months, said a spokeswoman for the Department of Finance.
The funds are allocated for marketing campaigns for various areas. For the US and the UK, the budget allocation is £2.7 million each. Some £2.2 million is allocated for continental Europe. A campaign to reassure home tourists is estimated to cost £1.5 million, while administrative expenses will be £900,000.
Details of some of the funding were announced by the Minister for Tourism, Dr McDaid, in the US last week.
Fine Gael's spokesman on public enterprise and tourism, Mr Jim Higgins TD, said a series of financial measures were needed to assist the tourism industry.
A spokesman for the Department of Tourism said the Minister would address these issues in the Dail today.