Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is fitting that we are discussing this topic of tourism and development as a wonderful organisation called Munster Vales today held a sustainable tourism event in Caiseal Mumhan, Cashel, County Tipperary, which I, unfortunately, could not attend due to being here. From what I heard it was an excellent event and I want to compliment Tríona O'Mahony and her team for that. Munster Vales is doing fantastic work promoting the region of Tipperary, north Cork, Limerick and down to the Copper Coast in Waterford. It is great to see these local authorities working together - ní neart go cur le chéile - to promote tourism in the region.

For far too long these regions have been left behind but it is great to see a real effort to promote the natural beauty and amenities we have in these areas. I hope that through this Bill we will be able to go further with that. For far too long those areas were left behind by the National Tourism Development Authority and we had to rely on volunteers, whom I salute. I particularly want to pay tribute to Knockmealdown Active, a wonderful voluntary community organisation that celebrated its tenth anniversary two week's ago in the community hall of my village of Caisleán Nua na Siúire. The brain behind that was Kevin O'Donnell, who had Kilmaneen Farmhouse. It brought all the local communities together under Knockmealdown Active on the slopes and at the foot of the Knockmealdown Mountains. This includes my home village of Newcastle, Ardfinnan, Goatenbridge, Clogheen, Ballyporeen and Araglin. It also extends trasna na sléibhte to Mount Melleray and its famed abbey and to Lismore.

I would like to compliment the founding members of Knockmealdown Active: Billy Hale, Mark Rylands and Marian O'Dwyer, an rúnaí. They have done tremendous work, it has been an outstanding success and I salute them. I salute the way they brought together representatives of each of the communities in an effort to work together to promote tourism and improve the quality of life in our communities by introducing outdoor amenities. They have worked hard to manage our waymarked trails and hold guided walks and kayak trips on our Suir blueway. Most notably they have organised the Knockmealdown challenge, which brought 600 participants to An Caisleán Nua, Newcastle, this year, for an adventure race comprising cycling, trail running through the Knockmealdown Mountains and kayaking in the famous Bay Lough, where Petticoat Loose was renowned to reside. This event is a wonderful success in its sixth year and it is an example of how successful community events can be run. The organisation has operated without any significant State funding and its success is down to the commitment of the committee members, and all of the different committees and clubs in the area joined in this year. It was wonderful and the true spirit of the meitheal was active in organising that.

It is also hugely involved in the development of the fantastic St. Declan's Way project, which is a wonderful 116 km waymarked trail stretching from Caiseal Mumhan through Tipperary to Ardmore, County Waterford. Bhí an tAire ann leis an bprionsa. The Minister was in Cashel earlier this year during the royal visit. Many years ago, Knockmealdown Active and Kevin O'Donnell in particular came to me with a proposal to hugely increase the tourism potential in the Knockmealdown region but unfortunately at the time Fáilte Ireland and the other agencies could not fund it. Hopefully, the Bill will change that. Thankfully during Covid, people began to see the value and the asset of where they are living. We have to be careful going forward as tourism faces challenges with the cost of living so we do not know if people will be able to travel to our area. It is important that Fáilte Ireland gets behind and supports these forgotten areas.

I also want to pay tribute to Munster Vales, under the guidance of Tríona O'Mahony and to Tipperary Tourism, under the guidance of Marie Phelan, who does an excellent job, for all their wonderful work in the presentation of Tipperary and the Munster vales as an attractive outdoor destination. I acknowledge the work of Tipperary food producers for their massive efforts in promoting the county as a top destination for food tourism. We have so much to offer in Tipperary with the Knockmealdown Mountains, the Galtee Mountains, the Vee valley and the Glen of Aherlow, stretching up to the Lough Derg region. We have the best castles and heritage buildings with the Rock of Cashel, Cahir Castle and the Swiss Cottage, all in Cashel, Carrick-on-Suir and so on. We have the heritage and culture and we want to promote it. We look forward to engaging with the Minister. Beidh fíor-fáilte roimpi teacht síos agus féachaint air sin.

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