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

As the Deputy knows, significant supports have been provided to Cork. The Lee Valley features on Fáilte Ireland's discoverireland.iewebsite for domestic visitors. This is the one-stop shop that showcases the wealth of attractions to see and Cork features heavily there. Tourism Ireland has Ronan O'Gara as an ambassador, which is very much putting Cork on the map. Regarding the regional tourism development strategies, Cork City and east Cork is included in Fáilte Ireland's new Ireland's Ancient East development strategy; west Cork is included in the new Wild Atlantic Way development strategy; and the Ballyhoura region is included in Ireland's Hidden Heartlands development strategy. These roadmaps for the tourism industry, and all stakeholders involved in tourism in the regions, will help navigate the current challenges and steer a course towards a sustainable recovery and continued success. They will ensure a focus on tourism and development is sustainable. We have the capital investment in Cork, the platforms for growth, the shared water facilities, the urban animation scheme with Cork City Council, the destination towns initiative, the Digital that Delivers programme and Cork Harbour development plan. It is an area that gets support because it is such a tourism heaven for attractions, and we absolutely identify that. The budgetary supports we have put in place for downstream businesses will also help with developing and supporting tourism activity providers in the region.

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