Mr. Aidan Pender:

I thank the Chairman and members of the fisheries sub-committee for providing us with this opportunity to contribute this afternoon to their deliberations and I hope we can be of some assistance in this regard. I am joined today by my colleagues, Mr. Paddy Mathews to my left, Ms Ethna Murphy to his left and on the far left, Ms Mary Stack. All of us work in our destination development unit, and have responsibilities in sustainable tourism, outdoor and adventure tourism, and the marine as an area of interest in tourism development. With the Chairman's permission I would like to read a brief statement with a view to communicating some of the work programmes and areas of emphasis that the tourism board of Fáilte Ireland is involved in.

If I may, I will do so for a few moments to convey a sense of such activity, after which we are entirely open to take any questions or observations the sub-committee may wish to present to us.

As members may be aware, Fáilte Ireland is the National Tourism Development Authority of Ireland and was established in May 2003. Its principal areas of focus are to support the development of Irish tourism, promote the growth of the tourism industry, both in terms of numbers and revenues, and to sustain Ireland as a high-quality and competitive tourism destination. We also provide a range of practical business supports to help tourism businesses better manage and market their products and services. Most of our work is on the production - or supply - side of Irish tourism. Our sister agency, Tourism Ireland, works on the demand side and promotes Ireland internationally as a premium tourism destination.

We believe that tourism businesses in Ireland are now poised, after a number of challenging years, to move from a recent period marked by concerns of survival and cautious consolidation to one marked by recovery and growth. However, this recovery and growth will be hard won and will depend in particular on developing and maintaining a clear focus on the interests of the international visitor and on strengthening the appeal of Ireland in international markets. We also will need to support small Irish tourism enterprises in developing the capacity to sell directly into international markets. As an aside at this point, it might be noted that tourism in Ireland is sometimes described as having two parts. There is a daytime tourism, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and then an evening tourism, from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. Ireland has considerable strengths in the latter but there certainly is room for further development in the former, in respect of the things to see and do during the day. This could represent a particular and immediate area of engagement for the marine sector.

I will now say a few words on tourism and the marine sector to explain how, within Fáilte Ireland, we understand the potential contribution the sector could make. In respect of today's discussion, it might be noted that in recent years responsibility for marine tourism has moved between various Departments with some consequent uncertainty regarding an appropriate budget allocation for the sector. On 5 April 2011, the Government made an order to transfer the marine tourism function to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, who subsequently was renamed the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. In July 2012, the Government published an integrated marine plan for Ireland entitled "Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth". This document contains the principal marine tourism policy at national level. Fáilte Ireland contributed significantly to this marine tourism policy and looks forward to working closely with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in supporting the realisation of this policy. A considerable part of Fáilte Ireland's work programme routinely involves collaborative working with other Departments and agencies, as well as with the private sector.

Our own research on Irish tourism businesses and tourist travel patterns within Ireland indicates that 70% of visitors are concentrated in areas representing 30% of the country and members may not be surprised to hear that the majority of these areas are along the coastline. Therefore in its pursuit of tourism development, Fáilte Ireland inevitably is involved in the development of marine tourism through collaboration with other agencies that exercise the primary responsibility in this area. At a very basic level of analysis, Ireland has three principal tourism assets from which to work, that is, our natural heritage - of which our marine resource clearly is an important part, our built heritage and our cultural heritage. Visitors to Ireland want a unique and authentic Irish experience, in that they want to engage fully with what Ireland has to offer, understand it and enjoy it. Increasingly, our visitor feedback surveys are telling us that visitors want a fully immersive experience in order that they leave the country feeling they have fully accessed and enjoyed a unique experience that only Ireland can offer. Accordingly, the developmental focus is shifting from product development to experience development and the marine resource can contribute to this process.

One of the means of unlocking these visitor experiences is through the delivery of a high-quality authentic adventure tourism product and the marine sector is a key part of this. At present, marine tourism in Ireland contributes significantly to the tourism economy. Like tourism in general however, it has the potential to contribute even more. The manner in which visitors access and engage with the coastline and marine environment also is significant. For the majority of visitors, access to the coastline is from the land. Therefore, a range of both sea-to-land but perhaps more importantly, land-to sea, solutions and opportunities must be provided for our visitors. This can range across water-based activities such as surfing, sailing, kayaking, wildlife watching, etc., to coastal walks, attractions and services. It is estimated that in 2011, marine tourism represented 10% of total tourism revenue or approximately €547 million. This is when we aggregate across all water-based activities, islands, coastal walks, amenities, etc. Given the correct development strategy, it is reasonable to aspire to doubling marine tourism's share of total tourism revenue by 2020. This would mean the sector could ultimately have a 20% share, thereby generating approximately €1.4 billion in revenue out of a total tourism revenue of €7 billion. The implication here of course is that the marine sector could become a bigger player within the tourism product mix.

I now wish to speak in some detail on some specific marine-related initiatives to communicate some of the work programmes in which Fáilte Ireland is involved. Perhaps, if members wish, we could expand on them later. Fáilte Ireland has worked at a number of different levels to contribute to the continued development of marine tourism. This work has primarily involved the development of specific marine and coastal infrastructure, support services such as festivals and events, marketing and publicity, the development of local trade and community networks to deliver the experience, as well as business support services and training for local tourism businesses along our coastline. Since 2007, Fáilte Ireland has invested nearly €18 million in marine-related infrastructure projects. I will now offer comment on some specific areas of activity. First, in respect of angling and fishing, Ireland is well recognised as representing an outstanding angling destination in Europe due to the vast variety and quality of fishing available. The warm waters of the North Atlantic Drift provide the country with a relatively mild climate, delivering a good mix of cold and warm water fish species. Ireland is a destination that is particularly well known for its pike and salmon fishing. Sea angling in particular has gone from strength to strength in the past number of years. Within a six-year period, the number of anglers participating in this type of angling has increased from 12% of total anglers in 2005 to 45% of total anglers in 2011. It would appear that the level of interest in sea angling has come at the expense of coarse angling, which has declined in popularity from 47% participation in 2007 to 24% in 2011. While game angling has also decreased in popularity, its decline is not as notable as coarse angling. The European Union's axis 4 European Fisheries Fund is actively supported by Fáilte Ireland through the national implementation board and through the fisheries local action groups, FLAGS, which support the sustainable development of fisheries areas. Particular work elements in this regard include measures to promote economic diversification around tourism, food and renewable energy, as well as an improved quality of life in areas affected by a decline in fishing activities. We also have participated in the development of draft strategies that have been published or are currently being finalised by the six fisheries local action groups, each containing strong proposals to support marine tourism development.

Second, I refer to the Great Western Greenway. Over the past number of years but most recently under the current tourism capital investment programme, Fáilte Ireland has supported investment in tourism infrastructure around the country. This investment both supports existing tourism jobs and creates opportunities for new jobs on the back of the additional infrastructure development. The Great Western Greenway in County Mayo is an example of one such project. This involved the conversion of a disused railway line in County Mayo into a greenway for walking and cycling, thereby linking the coastal towns of Westport and Newport with Achill Island over a 40 km line. This greenway is one of the best examples of sustainable tourism growth in Ireland in recent times with a recent economic impact study suggesting that approximately 38 new full-time job equivalents have been created with a further 56 existing full-time equivalent jobs sustained as a result of the project. Therefore, the greenway appears to be playing a positive economic role in terms of employment not only by creating new jobs, but also, in a challenging economic environment, by protecting existing jobs that otherwise might be lost. In passing, I might note we recently received planning permission to develop an equivalent greenway project through Connemara from Clifden to Oughterard. In addition, we hope to examine the feasibility of connecting Louisburgh to Clifden as a third phase in that development.