CSO statistics gather up the real tourists along with the homesick Irish emigrants

As the saying goes, there are lies, damned lies, and statistics.

And while the latest CSO figures do not quite fall into the first two categories, they are also not as straightforward a good news story as Government spokespeople suggest.

According to the independent state statistics body, the tourism figures revealed yesterday are based solely on the number of “footfalls” into Irish airports.