Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Cawley and thank him for his presentation. I am sure he understand the constraints under which we are working and which have necessitated several suspensions of the proceedings.

I come from a part of the country, County Limerick, that has been bypassed by the tourism industry. We are located along one of the most important strategic roads in Ireland in terms of the tourism industry, linking Dublin with County Kerry and the south west. In the past 40 years, however, our tourism potential has been bypassed. In the case of Shannon Development, for example, there was a huge emphasis on Bunratty and the Shannon area, which was fair enough. At the same time, the increased expenditure on roads which brought Limerick city and, in turn, County Kerry closer to Dublin in terms of travelling time saw my part of County Limerick being even more overlooked than it had been before. As we know, Shannon Development is no more and Fáilte Ireland's tourism remit is now slightly different. In terms of these areas, not just in County Limerick but all over the country which do not roll off the tongue as easily as some of the other tourism destinations, what does Mr. Cawley envisage Fáilte Ireland doing to change direction? I realise one cannot drag visitors into specific areas, but something should be done to encourage them to do so. Every part of the country has something different to sell and something that makes it attractive to potential visitors. When it comes to marketing, however, in the area I represent it seems to be the same old faces and places - hoteliers, restaurateurs and so on - that are constantly promoted.

I know that in his previous life Mr. Cawley would have seen the benefits of the separation of Shannon Airport from the Dublin Airport Authority. Is there anything else from his previous life that he could envisage the Government pursuing to try to get people to come to airports such as Shannon?

I ask about the involvement of Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland, the Northern Ireland Tourism Board, local authorities and the National Roads Authority in trying to encourage people to visit destinations that were heretofore bypassed. Just before the vote, Deputy Griffin, who is sitting beside me, said that the Limerick to Listowel route by the coast road, the N69, through Askeaton, Foynes and Glin into Listowel is not promoted to any great extent. I am sure there are multiple examples of that throughout the country.

I wish Mr. Cawley well in his new role. Great credit is due to him for taking on this role. Given our major reliance on two pillars, agriculture and the tourism industry, anything that can be done to advance them should be welcomed.