The overall value of tourism revenue in 2007 will be close to a record €6.5bn, according to figures released today by the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC).

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern has led the tributes to former Tánaiste John Wilson who has died aged 84.

THE planned expansion of Dublin Airport must be urgently completed as it is a vital link in the future growth of the tourism industry, it was warned yesterday.

REGIONAL tourism is to get an extra €5 million for marketing initiatives in an effort to halt the slide towards short city breaks.

In reaction to today’s Budget announcement, the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) calls on the Minister for Finance to urgently address the serious competitive disadvantage which the Irish VAT system places on business tourism.

The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) has welcomed the PwC report on the Regional Tourism Authorities (RTA's) and the subsequent Travers Report in relation to Dublin tourism.

LOCAL authority rates and a “crippling” VAT regime are killing the hotel industry and need to be overhauled urgently, the Irish Hotels Federation said yesterday.

Local authority rates must be overhauled in order to create a fairer business environment, delegates at the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) 67th Annual Conference were told in Cork today.

IRISH holidaymakers will go abroad rather than take breaks at home if the Government’s nighttime ban on children in bars is not eased, a hotels leader has warned.

The compulsory Shannon stopover for US visitors must be abolished to secure the future of tourism in this country, it was urged today.

HOTELS need to work harder to deliver a better product and attract tourists, the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) yesterday said.

TRIBUTES were paid yesterday to leading hotelier Gerry O’Connor, who died in a fall on the MacGillycuddy Reeks in Co Kerry on Monday.

The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) president Richard Bourke today expressed shock at the tragic death yesterday on Carrauntoohill of Gerry O'Connor.

Tourism has grown to become a mainstay of our economy, writes KEVIN MILLS.

IRISH Hotels Federation president, Richard Bourke, yesterday hit out at the term "Rip-Off Ireland" and the people who accuse the tourist industry of overcharging.

American Airlines is to operate two new nonstop services between the United States and Ireland from next year.

The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) has welcomed the provisions in Budget 2005 for the increase in capital investment in transport and in personal tax credits.

The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) has welcomed the provisions in Budget 2005 for the increase in capital investment in transport and in personal tax credits, but is disappointed that a “blatant anomaly” in the treatment of VAT on business expenditure in hotels and restaurants was not addressed.

THE system of funding local authorities came under fresh fire yesterday when the group representing Irish hoteliers joined last week’s calls by the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland for an overhaul to ease the pressure on businesses.

The Irish Hotels Federation has welcomed the retention of John O'Donoghue as Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism stating his work in this Department augers well for the industry for the remainder of his term.

RESTAURANT owners last night hit back at reports of customers being ripped off as they launched a value menu scheme.

The President of the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) Richard Bourke today highlighted the importance of retaining and building competitiveness within the EU as he addressed delegates on the eve of a major two-day EU conference in Dublin entitled Charting Tourism Success.

The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) today called on the public to show patience and tolerance during the implementation of the workplace smoking ban, which commences on Monday.

WAYS of speeding up the criminal justice system, now almost at a standstill because of delays and legal manoeuvring, will be fully explored, the Department of Justice said yesterday.

SARAH FITZPATRICK is strong.

A SENIOR opposition politician yesterday called for all garda interviews with suspects to be videotaped.

IF ever there was a compelling argument for accelerating the installation of video facilities at garda stations to record interviews with suspects in cases of serious crime, it was yesterday’s acquittal of two men of the alleged murder of a civil servant.

Two young Dublin men have been found not guilty of murdering a civil servant by direction of Mr Justice Liam McKechnie at the Central Criminal Court today.

The jury in the trial of two men accused of beating a civil servant to death have been sent away until Friday week as the case enters lengthy legal argument in the Central Criminal Court.

Two men accused of murdering a civil servant told a prosecution witness they "milled" a man and left him lying in a pool of blood, a murder trial heard today.

A civil servant who died after a beating had "patterns" on his face consistent with "stamping", a murder trial was told yesterday.

A witness in a murder trial today denied parts of her Garda statement which she made after the murder of a civil servant in 1998.

A hackney driver has told a murder trial that he saw a man lying on the ground being punched by another man while a third man stood over him.

A 43-year-old civil servant was beaten and kicked because he refused to give cigarettes to two young Dublin men accused of his murder, it was claimed in the Central Criminal Court today.

THE US military has tortured terrorist suspects held without charge at the Guantanamo Bay military prison, an Australian lawyer representing some of the suspects claimed yesterday.

The US military has tortured terrorist suspects held without charge at the Guantanamo Bay military prison, an Australian lawyer representing some of the suspects claimed today.

A British man who had spent 16 years on death row has been executed after the US Supreme Court rejected a last-minute appeal to spare his life.