Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I apologise because I was late for the meeting. I was up to what might be referred to as nefarious activities in Dublin West and got caught in traffic. I must speak to my party colleague, Deputy Dessie Ellis, about sorting out the Dublin traffic problems. I welcome Mr. Cawley and I thank him for his presentation which was very clear and easy to understand. I have no questions on his qualifications or experience because it is self-evident he has the skills set to do the job.

I wish to examine some of the issues about which Mr. Cawley spoke. He spoke about the regional and spatial spread. I represent Sligo and north Leitrim and after the next election the constituency will comprise Sligo, Leitrim, south Donegal and west Cavan. Donegal seems to get good coverage in terms of tourism but south Donegal gets somewhat less. The tourist numbers in Sligo are improving but Leitrim and west Cavan do not seem to be on the tourism maps. The Abbey Manor Hotel in Dromahair is most wonderful. It is right beside beautiful Lough Gill and Parke's Castle, which is one of the best examples of a castle in Ireland if not Europe. This lovely hotel is dilapidated and rotting away. There is a despondency in Leitrim at present. I cannot suggest what we can do about it but doing nothing is not an option. I have spoken to some people involved in tourism, and there is much scope for co-operatives of people who deal in the business of tourism products, particularly in weaker tourism areas. One person or one business will not be able to do anything alone but if we could get past the distrust competitors have for each other and work on a co-operative model it is probably the only way to go.

I was delighted to hear Mr. Cawley state he will encourage and support people who come with a vision and who bring fresh insight, innovation and new ideas.

It is necessary. We all know people like that. I know a couple of people in the tourism industry who are working on the Atlantic butterfly route as part of the Wild Atlantic Way. This is the sort of innovative thinking that is needed. Someone else has developed a website and received a commitment from approximately 120 tourism businesses. Through a more comprehensive product, it involves the stronger areas and feeds into the weaker ones.

Sometimes, the people involved in tourism with whom I speak voice a criticism. They believe that full-time tourism promotion staff seem to have more administrative skill sets than promotional ones. They ask a challenging question to which I do not have a satisfactory answer. Would it not be better to invest in those with a vested interest in the product they are promoting?

I do not know whether Mr. Cawley has got around to deciding on whether to undertake a special initiative to increase the number of tourists to Ireland to the magic figure of 10 million in 2016 for the 1916 commemoration. It may be too early to say, but does he wish to make changes to the organisational structure of Fáilte Ireland or to its relationship with other State agencies, local authorities and groups involved in tourism? I was delighted to hear that he would speak with the good folk of Ireland West Airport Knock. It is critical to tourism in the west and the north west, particularly since the closure of Sligo Airport.

Many of us who oppose the potential hydraulic fracturing in the north west believe that the region's main attraction is its unspoiled environment - our hills, valleys, lakes and rivers. If hydraulic fracturing were permitted in Fermanagh, Leitrim or south Donegal, we could kiss tourism goodbye. No one would visit a deserted industrial site, which is what we would have after 15 years.