Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. As I said to Deputy Connolly earlier, this is an issue that is on the way out of our Department. Last Tuesday it was finalised that my colleague, Deputy Peter Burke, will be answerable on tourism. Following the making of a Government order on Tuesday, statutory responsibility for the sector will transfer to the Minister, Deputy Burke, from 1 June. He has already had a number of engagements with key tourism stakeholders across a range of priority areas.

The programme for Government sets out a clear commitment to growing Ireland's tourism industry. Through support for Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland, we want to showcase Ireland as a high quality and accessible destination for both national and international visitors. In addition, the Government will work with Fáilte Ireland to develop a balanced regional spread of tourism throughout the country, promoting and advancing the Hidden Heartlands, Ireland’s Ancient East, the Wild Atlantic Way, and Dublin.

The Tourism Policy Framework 2025-2030 was published by the previous Government last November. I understand that the Minister has asked officials to consider how commitments in the new programme for Government align with the policy framework and to prioritise the finalisation of a new tourism policy which reflects the programme and other Government priorities. I would also like to note that Fáilte Ireland has put in place a set of regional tourism strategies out to 2027 which will be implemented by localised destination and experience development plans. These five-year plans follow a best practice destination stewardship approach, co-created and jointly managed by all key stakeholders in a destination.

In terms of ensuring that all regions benefit from overseas tourism, we know ongoing selling points for Ireland are our scenery, culture and history. Tourism Ireland will be launching a new slow tourism campaign in overseas markets in June, focused on helping people get around the regions and explore the island. In terms of the domestic market, Fáilte Ireland is continuing its investment in destination development, capital projects, marketing, and festivals across the country. Furthermore, the Minister, Deputy Burke, launched a new business events strategy on 29 April to promote the development of our world-class business events sector and realise the full economic benefits of business events for the island of Ireland.

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