Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair for allowing me to participate. I also thank the Minister and the Minister of State. I was following this session on and off, but another meeting coincided with this one and I apologise for not being here. I thank the Minister for everything she is doing. Many positive announcements have come from her Department in recent weeks and involving a great deal of outdoor activities. That bodes well and gives much hope for what can be achieved in a west of Ireland county in the months to come as we try to kick-start tourism.

Has the Minister given any thought to creating a major international marketing plan for Ireland post Covid-19? The Gathering occurred in 2013 and we have had some great events which have brought hundreds of thousands of people to our coasts. It is time we looked beyond the Covid-19. We are probably now looking to the summer of 2022 as the time when there could be a major initiative to bring passengers from the United States into Ireland to spend time in the west and along the Wild Atlantic Way and to visit other parts of Ireland. Has the Minister examined the possibility of running something major in that regard next year?