Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have one final point, Chair. It was mentioned in one of the briefing documents that existing planning does not take account of the additional impact associated with tourism and business visitors, which is becoming increasingly evident right throughout the year. In particular, I am going to focus on the north west again. The Wild Atlantic Way was launched with much fanfare. It has been a massive success. Tourism to not just to Mayo, but across the western region including Donegal, has increased. I am glad to see that the document reflects the fact that planning is not acknowledging this. We are all very happy-clappy that we have the west of Ireland when the tourism comes. We can send the tourists down for their hot whiskeys and their walks along the hills, but we have no interest in actually providing the infrastructure and the resources to the people living there all of the time. If we start to suck the life out of the west of Ireland, as we have been doing for the last ten years, there will be nothing left to go and visit because there will be nobody there to run the local shop and pub and to provide the accommodation for these visitors that we all say are very necessary to the entire economy of our country.

From IBEC's perspective, we need to see it fighting more for infrastructural projects in the west of Ireland. Our voice is quite weak at the national table. We have not been listened to in the last number of years. As I said, we are left off any map one looks at. IBEC represents huge businesses in that region. The briefing it organised for the west in Allergan last year was hugely informative and we were all sitting around the table on the same page. However, as a national voice, I do not hear IBEC standing up for the west often enough and speaking about the impact a lack of investment in that region has, not only on the west but on the entire country. I ask IBEC to take on board the need a stronger voice for the west of Ireland in any future policy documents and campaigns it runs.