Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I welcome that the Minister is having those meetings because I believe a large part of the future of tourism lies in the cultural area as all the research indicates. I was surprised that so many bodies were involved which makes me wonder whether this area is so fragmented that it is inefficient. In addition I was surprised at the omission of others who would have had a big input into that, for example tour operators, who are out selling Ireland on their own behalf and obviously are bringing visitors home. The other big player missing — maybe the newspapers failed to report it — was the OPW, which is responsible for the construction and maintenance of our heritage sites and attractions.

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