Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am not reluctant to answer any of the Deputy's questions but I thought that, because of the extent of the detail in the survey of 10,000 people, it might be appropriate to get the information from Fáilte Ireland. I can arrange for the Deputy to have a full briefing from them because I know it is close to his heart and to his neighbourhood. I am often asked to micromanage by answering questions which are more appropriate to others and I just thought the Deputy might get a better reply from Fáilte Ireland. I am very happy, however, to get it from them and give it to the Deputy, if that is what he wants.

There was apparently a problem with Laois, but I do not think it is a real problem. County Laois completed a long-term tourism strategy recently, with input from Fáilte Ireland, and it is very much aligned with Ireland's Ancient East. My understanding is that the local chamber is happy with that, as is the chairperson of Laois Tourism. I understand that when this was announced and Laois was left in Ireland's Ancient East, while the response from one or two people was somewhat knee-jerk, the response from people at the coalface was favourable and they wanted to stay where they were.

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