Mr. John James O'Hara:

I have two points to make. It is great to see leadership being given in County Mayo. Funding is a big problem in County Leitrim. In fairness to Leitrim Development Board, Leitrim County Council and Leitrim Tourism, they are doing their best and it is great to be able to talk to them, but they have no money available. That is a major problem. That County Leitrim has one of the highest emigration rates is unreal. In two villages in north Leitrim almost 300 young people have left, a few of whom were very interested in the tourism business. One guy had developed a stand-up paddle, SUP, board. He started two years ago and was doing very well. However, he could not obtain funding. The project could have grown much faster but was held back because of the lack of funding.

On funding for marketing, there are many mature people who have developed their own ideas but who need funding to get to the market. Such funding is not in place for 2014. Irrespective of what is made available in 2015, no funding will be available in 2014.

We will not have a bigger showcase than Milan Expo 2015. In the past couple of weeks Dubai has won the right to host Expo 2020. My idea was to relaunch The Gathering in 2020 and showcase the event in Dubai, which is one of our largest markets. The Middle East market is massive. We need to have someone on the ground there probably more than in any other place to develop that market.

Fracking is a major issue in County Louth. I cannot agree with Mayo County Council on this issue because fracking has to be stopped. From living in and talking to people in the United States, there are areas in Pennsylvania that have been desecrated. If we are to bring American tourists here and they drive past large fracking sites, they will say they can see this back home as well as the mess created. Fracking is a massive issue for tourism. There may be a spin-off initially, but afterwards when plants are up and running, there will be very little benefit. Many plants have closed in Pennsylvania because the price of gas has never been as low in the markets. It is a major issue which should be looked at.