Mr. Nora O'Meara:

I have been a genealogist in the North Tipperary Genealogy Centre under the auspices of North Tipperary County Council for the past 26 years, which is a long time, and the centre is an integral part of rural tourism in the country. Tipperary has not experienced as much emigration as the west. However, our centre attracts a significant number of tourists to our county. Up to 6,000 people had used our online service up to November this year, of whom 893 travelled from abroad and visited my office. That does not include domestic visitors. That means a significant number of people have visited Nenagh. We charge a small fee for the genealogy service we provide while they spend a great deal of money in the local economy. We are a tourist point for the county when the tourist office is closed .

Deputy Tuffy asked about education. I have run several genealogy classes with the VEC for adult learners and primary school children. The children visit us as part of their curriculum to trace their ancestors and we provide that service free of charge to them. The centre also works with several MA programmes in the University of Limerick to provide a free service of lectures for students who visit us. We are also an important source for local historians who are writing parish histories and, again, that service is free.