Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)

I thank Ms Coad and Mr. Byrne for taking the time to come before the committee. There are also some people watching in online. What the outdoor recreation committee has achieved over the past 15 years is phenomenal. It is a positive footprint that other counties - I come from County Galway - could learn from. I completely agree that outdoor recreation should have a sustainable funding stream of its own because there is so much to offer. If Covid taught us anything, it was the value and benefit of outdoor recreation. However, the value and benefit are only as good as the investment that is put into it, as Mr. Byrne referenced in relation to the maintenance. I totally support what he said about how there should be a maintenance strategy as well. Other county councils could learn so much from the collective work the witnesses have done with LEADER because that is where it sometimes falls down. The Government is good with good initiatives and that one-off piece, but if we get the buy-in of the semi-State, LEADER companies and local authorities, there will be a framework that can be expanded upon. That is what I heard clearly from Ms Coad.

Listening to the witnesses' years of experience, I was thinking about how it all started. Did the Tánaiste advocate for walking to be brought in as part of transport or how did it get going in Wicklow? I do not mean to say "Wicklow of all places", but Wicklow. It is phenomenal. Ms Coad referred to Wicklow as being the playground for Dublin. It would be our greatest fear in Galway that we would have rural depopulation and become the playground for the east. I would hate to think that would happen. However, at the same time, if the playground is for our own, then there can be tourism and economic benefits and it can serve as a driver for the local economic area. Do the witnesses see the economic driver impact resulting from the investment in Wicklow?