Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Kyne. Athenry Castle had 743 visitors on free Wednesdays last year out of a total of 13,532 visitors. I will make these figures available to the Deputy. All in all, more than 6,700 people visited our heritage sites in Galway and Mayo on the free Wednesdays and more than 217,000 people visited those same sites in Galway and Mayo during the entire year of 2014. In addition to this being great for promoting our heritage it is also hugely economically beneficial in Galway and Mayo.

The guide service of the OPW is a key element of the presentation to visitors and it forms a significant part of the OPW's protection regime for the site. They present the sites in an entertaining and engaging way. Our guide workforce numbers include 82 permanent staff, and rise to approximately 350 including seasonal staff during the peak summer season. The resource is funded through the OPW vote, and in the current year €7.217 million has been provided to fund this element.

We look forward to working with Fáilte Ireland in aligning our objectives with the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland's Ancient East.

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