Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 13 December 2012

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement

Report on North-South Public Service Provision: Discussion

1:30 pm

Photo of Mary WhiteMary White (Fianna Fail)
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Of course. Fermanagh is such a beautiful county and the resort at which the meeting will be held is amazing.

I would like to see a greater level of co-operation generally between the two tourist groups on either side of the Border with a view to enhancing the tourism potential in both jurisdictions. This committee supported funding for the construction of the Narrow Water Bridge in Carlingford, which is due to be up and running in 2015. There is great potential in that development for the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and Fáilte Ireland to work together to devise a joint marketing plan for the Mourne Mountains and the Cooley Peninsula.

There are many other opportunities for North-South co-operation, but tourism is a particularly logical and beneficial one. It is an issue about which I am very passionate. The committee should encourage the two tourism agencies to work together to produce a joint marketing plan for the Border area. The hosting of the G8 summit offers an exceptional opportunity in this regard and the committee should push hard on the issue.