Feargal Quinn (Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

This is an extremely interesting discussion and it brings me back to the days when I started out in business in Dundalk way back in 1960. My father came from Newry and my grandfather was from Atticall, which is outside Newcastle, so I know the area well. One of the quick - I will not say easy - solutions to developing business is tourism. Would it be possible to choose a name for the entire area and, if so, one that would make it better known than it is at present? Perhaps our guests will indicate what went wrong with the project to put the bridge in place. The concept behind the bridge was certainly one which brought together those on both sides. My father's business was a holiday camp in Skerries and the guests who came to visit used to travel up to Warrenpoint. They would go to Omeath and then travel across to Warrenpoint on the boat. There is so much potential for tourism in the area. The great thing when it comes to tourism is that there are immediate benefits. I have a friend who visited Tayto Park near Ashbourne at the weekend and she could not get over the number of Irish people and tourists who were in the place. Tayto Park has proven to be successful in a short time but I accept that some additional developments have occurred there in recent times.

If we are going to make sure that area succeeds, from Warrenpoint, through Rostrevor to Newcastle, and tie it up with Omeath and Carlingford, where there are so many attractions, what can be done and what are the hindrances to getting together to ensure that area works as one unit?