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

Budget 2023 provided a €2 million increase in funding for domestic marketing to promote Ireland's tourism offering to Irish holidaymakers. As Deputy Munster will be aware, the domestic market is a critical part of the tourism economy. While, of course, I am examining mitigation measures, I am also looking to see how the domestic tourism market could help to sustain these tourism businesses. A marketing campaign will be a part of the measures we put in place. Additional domestic marketing funding secured for this year will allow Fáilte Ireland to continue to build momentum on the mass-reach media marketing campaign Keep Discovering. It is about promoting the joy of discovering the endless opportunities for domestic tourism and reminding those of us who live here that a short break with friends and family is a great option.

In respect of mitigation measures, I have consistently raised this matter. I have not only done so recently. It has been on my radar. There has been constant engagement with senior officials in the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. We need hard data to look at these possible mitigation reports. As the summer season cranks up, rather than having anecdotal stories, we must have hard evidence so that when I come back to my colleagues, I can outline exactly what is needed.

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