Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy will know from his time in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, the brands he mentioned have been some of the greatest drivers of tourism. The Deputy is right and I have pointed out to Fáilte Ireland that there is a corridor in the middle of the country.

As I said at the start of my contribution, the county CEOs have an opportunity. Fáilte Ireland recently announced a major capital investment programme with projects of between €200,000 and €5 million being funded. If the local authorities in Tipperary, Galway, Clare or Offaly wish to take the remaining elements of the strategy that are yet to be implemented and make viable applications to Fáilte Ireland, I am sure that Fáilte Ireland, given that it knows the lakelands area and knows the contribution that Lough Derg can make, will look at those.

I am very anxious to push this forward. Local authorities need to do much more when it comes to the development of our tourism strategy. It cannot fall to the Department alone, as the Deputy will know from his experience. It cannot fall to Fáilte Ireland and it cannot fall to Leader companies. There needs to be a concerted effort in this regard. Fáilte Ireland, through funding voted by the Oireachtas, has a significant amount of money available for capital works to enhance the tourism product available. I had a meeting with Fáilte Ireland representatives this morning to discuss the corridor I mentioned that goes from outside Cork city up to Cavan and Monaghan along both banks of the River Shannon.

When local authorities are making applications to Fáilte Ireland for capital works, they should be looked at in the context of them being outside the branded areas. However, local authorities must take up this initiative. This cannot fall to the Department; there is no magic wand there. An element of matching funding will be required as the Deputy knows from his time in the Department. I hope that the local authorities along the shore of the River Shannon, including my own local authority, will take this initiative to avail of the capital funding. The more applications that can be made through Fáilte Ireland, the more it strengthens our Department's case to look to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to have those grants enhanced.

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