Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our visitors and appreciate their contributions.

Let me begin with the delegation from County Mayo. I visited the county in August with my family and had the pleasure of travelling on the Greenway from Westport to Achill. It was a fantastic experience, so much so that I found myself writing a blog for my website in the bar of the hotel at the bridge to Achill. It is still available to read if anyone present wants to read it. I commend Mayo County Council for being ahead of the posse in developing the Greenway.

Our old and abandoned railway lines are national assets and comprise resources that we need to try to develop. In County Kerry, where I am from, we are trying to consider uses for the old mountain stage railway line from Farranfore to Valentia Island, focusing initially on the part running from Glenbeigh to Cahersiveen. We are also examining the Tralee-Fenit line and the Kilmorna-Listowel line so as to join up with the Great Southern Trail.

The country has potential to have a fully integrated greenway system. Perhaps this might take from the Mayo line because it led the way. My family travelled specifically to Westport to travel on the Mayo Greenway. Would it not be fantastic, however, if one could come to Ireland and spend one's entire holiday cycling on greenways? We do not necessarily need to use old, abandoned railway lines as there may be space beside some of the newer roads, provided the cycling trails could be separated from them. We have a vast network of rarely used smaller backroads that could be used for safe cycling. This could be achieved with a little work and planning. There are other resources available such as old, abandoned roads that could be used. Stretches of the old road between Tralee and Killarney are idle. Why not use them? I am sure there are such roads all over the country. This is something to consider for the future. However, we need to embrace the concept and planning now. Cycling tourism and slow tourism have a big future in this country.

The same applies to walking. I am from a rural, agricultural area and believe we really need to grasp the nettle and come to terms with the land access issue to make it easier for everyone to gain access to the countryside. At the same time, there should be a buy-in among the people who own the land. In the case of the proposed south Kerry greenway, ownership of the lands in question was assumed by the adjoining landowners when the line closed in the early 1960s. This is similar to what occurred in the 1930s when the Great Western Railway closed. A problem is that while a farmer might recognise the great benefits to his or her area of a greenway passing through his or her land, he or she will lose out on his or her single farm payment in respect of the corridor of land he or she allows to be used for it. That is not right. Someone should not lose out financially in facilitating an important asset in his or her area. There needs to be a multidepartmental approach to ensure everyone can be treated fairly. I commend Mayo County Council for its initiative and vision with regard to the Greenway.

Leitrim is a beautiful county that I have had the pleasure to visit. Do the delegates from there believe there is a regional problem in that so many visitors come to Dublin and not to the west? Last Thursday night I met in Dublin two American tourists who did not plan to travel beyond Dublin, although their dream had always been to see the fields and rustic areas. Their problem was that, for them, it was a bit too much hassle to try to get out of Dublin. That may be the perception and perhaps we need to work harder on marketing to demonstrate it is not very difficult to get from Dublin to the west or south west. The rail network has improved immensely in recent years. The motorway network is far better than it was even five years ago. Perhaps visitors to the country are not fully aware of this. There may be a perception based on the substandard roads of the past. In some places, they still are substandard. Perhaps the delegates might share their views on this issue.

I have put much thought during the years into winter tourism. Scotland serves as a good example when comparing our tourism product and marketing efforts with those of other countries. Scotland has been working on its winter tourism potential. How could we push this more? Ireland is as spectacular in the winter as it is in the summer. It has much to offer, including smaller attractions such as the quieter pubs with their turf fires at night time. How could we promote this further?

The retention of the 9% VAT rate has been welcomed universally in the tourism sector, as has the scrapping of the travel tax. Will Mr. Casey state how we fare internationally in terms of value for money? We have been doing our best in coming up with and retaining initiatives. However, have we further to go? My understanding is that we have improved immensely in recent years in terms of our international rank. Is there something more we could be doing?

The cruise sector has potential. Ireland is an island nation and we could easily have seven-day cruises around the country, albeit with some logistical planning and infrastructural development. Do the delegates recognise potential in this area?

The Gathering was a great success, as seems to be accepted. Last week I noted that there were 5.5 million trips abroad by Irish people in the first ten months of the year. Do the delegates recognise the merit in promoting a year that might be called “The Staying”, whereby a massive effort would be made to keep Irish people in the country for one year? Obviously, not all of the 5.5 million trips abroad in the first ten months of the year were for recreation but since many were, would it be worthwhile promoting an initiative aimed at getting people to stay at home to a greater extent than has been promoted in recent years? I am sure the marketing people could come up with a term much better than “The Staying”.

The return rate of one in three is quite poor. What is the reason for it? Will Mr. Casey state whether there is dissatisfaction that we do not recognise? Is it a logistical issue? Is Ireland just seen as a once-in-a-lifetime destination? How could this issue be tackled? There is great potential in this area. How do we arrive at figures such as those for Scotland and the Lake District?