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

I encourage every Member of this House to slow down and enjoy the wonderful sights across our country, to promote staycations and to support a sector that has been ravaged due to the pandemic. Sustainable development in tourism means using, without exploitation, our cultural and other tourist resources, to preserve them for future use by future generations. This means that tourism can be a positive, as the Deputy would understand, for local communities, as well as being economically sustainable. It means longer stays and tapping into all the resources in a community during those stays. We must seek to realise Ireland's ambition to be among world leaders in sustainable tourism practices. We are well placed to be a world leader. Development of the new policy which I mentioned earlier will set out the path for the coming years, which will support sustainable recovery and the subsequent regrowth. The Deputy mentioned Waterford. It has been a leader in sustainable tourism activities, especially the greenway from Dungarvan to Waterford city, which has been an exemplar for other cycle routes across the country. It is a testament to the determination and co-operation locally.

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