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

My role and that of my departmental officials in tourism lies primarily in the area of national tourism policy development and in securing resources to assist the tourism agencies, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, in implementing that policy.

With regard to specific expenditure by Fáilte Ireland from its Exchequer funding allocations, such decisions are an operational matter for Fáilte Ireland, as the national tourism development authority. Neither I, nor my Department, has any role in decisions by the authority regarding its operational funding priorities and related expenditure. On future funding, Fáilte Ireland is unable to commit to any funding at this time as there are currently no schemes open for application. Fáilte Ireland has, however, pledged its full support to the company that will be charged with steering the development of King John's Castle going forward. Indeed, a Fáilte Ireland representative will sit on the board of the newly-formed company.

The Limerick City and County Council takeover of King John's Castle has been a big step forward for the success of the castle and the implications for the wider tourism economy will be far-reaching. As the council only took ownership in April, I am advised that the focus for the summer season was to steady the ship operationally first. King John's Castle had a very successful summer that was full of events, including high-profile concerts, encouraging visitor feedback, and high-profile media coverage nationally and internationally. Fáilte Ireland continues to support King John's Castle through a number of enterprise supports, including, but not limited to, saleable experience and digital that delivers. This is against the backdrop of continued investment in Limerick by Fáilte Ireland, including funding, which will develop a thematic city quarter cluster approach to introduce visitors to each distinctive area of the city and link existing visitor attractions to supporting experiences.

From a wider perspective on tourism capital investment, I look forward to seeing the delivery of projects that will support a tourism sector that is sustainable from environmental, social, and economic perspectives. Fáilte Ireland's priority areas for tourism capital investment include the development and enhancement of tourist attractions and activity-based tourism to provide the type and quality of experience that visitors are seeking. Our overall tourism product offering has led to Ireland being recognised internationally as a year-round, high-quality tourism destination in both urban and rural settings.

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