Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)

I believe it is more relevant to tourism. An application was made to Fáilte Ireland on behalf of a voluntary organisation, which in the previous five years spent €500,000 of its money on this eco-tourism project, which complements the school curriculum very well. All schools in the neighbouring counties have expressed a keen interest in the project. There is a demand for such a project with the imminent introduction of the mandatory ecology practical projects for the junior and leaving certificate biology and geography courses. It has the capacity for cross-Border co-operation in attracting school students and other visitors from across the Border.

The grant aid sought has been fully indemnified enthusiastically by Monaghan County Council for the lifetime of the grant, which cannot be ignored. Private investors are involved and are willing to row in with a companion project to build eight ten-bed hostels there at a cost of €3 million. If the private investor believes a market exists, we cannot ignore it. We need to reconsider the project critically and objectively. The promoters are seeking fair play and due process. I wonder how we can ever develop or increase tourism in County Monaghan without projects to attract people. Tourism is currently worth about €4 billion annually, but County Monaghan gets a mere 0.25% of that. We also know that tourism is a diminishing market that is becoming more short term and tends more towards attracting people to cities.

I wonder what this BMW thing is all about, given that our region never seems to benefit from it. As Deputy Crawford pointed out, often only lip-service is paid to cross-Border projects such as those at Castle Saunderson, the Ulster Canal or the Ballybay wetlands project. The people in Fáilte Ireland seem to be untouchable and unanswerable to the democratic process.

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