Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

To date, there have been two calls for applications under Platforms for Growth, Fáilte Ireland’s strategic, platform-based approach to large-scale capital investment in tourism product, as referred to in the question submitted by the Deputy, which targets investment in line with specific platforms. Under this overall programme, Fáilte Ireland aims to invest up to €150 million between 2019 and 2022 in developing major new visitor attractions of scale and greatly enhancing existing attractions.

Fáilte Ireland’s first call for applications under this programme in 2019 focused on heritage and cultural attractions, and invited proposals for large-scale projects of €2.5 million upwards. As I said earlier, I am informed that Fáilte Ireland is currently evaluating applications that made it through to stage 3 of the five-stage overall assessment process and that decisions are due by the end of May. As we discussed earlier, the projects that have successfully passed stage 3 will then move into the development phase.  Fáilte Ireland cannot provide any indicative funding figures for Platforms for Growth 1 allocations until the evaluation process has been completed.

The results of a second targeted call for local authorities to develop activity facility centres at waterside locations across Ireland were announced on 15 April 2021.  The €19 million investment announced for this platform will be used to develop world-class facility centres at 22 locations across the country where water-based activities are a key visitor attraction. Each centre will provide hot showers, changing and toilet facilities, secure storage, induction spaces, equipment wash-down and orientation points.

With specific regard to Exchequer funding allocations, Fáilte Ireland's overall Exchequer capital allocation this year for tourism product development is €32.8 million. Allocations for subsequent years will be the subject of the annual Estimates discussion with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

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