Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. I welcome any increase in tourist numbers. It is an established fact that cultural tourism is one of our main attractions when it comes to selling and marketing Ireland to international markets, particularly in the US and Germany. According to the Government's Action Plan for Jobs, our rich culture, heritage and natural environment can assist in the development of the tourism product and allow us to gain a comparative advantage over other countries. Tourism is central to this Government's economic recovery programme and key policy actions are outlined in the programme for Government and in the Action Plan for Jobs. In spite of this, it is very clear that we have failed to develop our cultural and heritage capital to its full potential and to capitalise on our natural resources.

In the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013, Ireland is ranked 117th out of 140 countries when it comes to protection and utilisation of our natural resources. We are ranked 29th when it comes to our utilisation and development of our cultural resources. If these figures are broken down even further, we see we are ranked 88th in terms of world heritage cultural sites and 79th in terms of world heritage natural sites.

Will the Minister impress upon his colleague, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Deenihan, the importance of protecting and developing the Moore Street battlefield site? This has huge potential in terms of its ability to attract international tourists to the country. The site and historic quarter is unique and its as yet untapped potential could, if properly harnessed, give a major boost to the capital in terms of jobs and income. As such, it should be utilised to its potential.

See this speech in context