Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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99. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the initiatives he is implementing to promote tourism in Kells, County Meath, to enhance the town’s appeal as a destination for visitors. [22820/25]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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111. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the initiatives he is implementing to promote tourism in Meath and enhance the region’s appeal as a destination for visitors. [22819/25]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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What initiatives are being implemented by the Minister to promote tourism in Kelly, County Meath, to enhance the town's appeal as a destination for visitors?

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 99 and 111 together.

This is the third time I have said the following but I will repeat it for the record. Tourism is now the policy responsibility of my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke. 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 and the Government recognises the central importance of the tourism sector to Ireland's economy.

In addition, I note that the programme for Government provides that the Government will work with Fáilte Ireland to develop a balanced regional spread of tourism throughout the country, promoting and enhancing the Hidden Heartlands, Ireland's Ancient East, the Wild Atlantic Way and Dublin. County Meath is included in Fáilte Ireland’s Ancient East regional tourism development strategy 2023-27. Ireland's Ancient East is not only internationally renowned for its rich heritage but also for the variety of tracks and trails by which the region can be explored and discovered. Its diverse landscape provides the visitor with a rich tapestry from which to unlock the living culture unique to the place and underpinned by 5,000 years of heritage and tradition evidenced by its many historical sites.

Under the strategy, the ancient destination experience development plan, DEDP, which includes Meath, provides a destination-wide tourism development focus, harnessing existing plans and examining new projects to create a world-class destination with "ancient" as the core development theme. A key project in the ancient DEDP for delivery in 2025 is the development of a place-making plan for Kells that will link the various cultural assets within the town as a collective visitor proposition. Examples include the Spire of Lloyd experience, the Kells Type Trail, the round tower and crosses, St. Colmcille’s house and interpretative experiences.

The reimagined Boyne Valley drive has the objective of moving the existing Boyne Valley drive up the tourism value chain from a point-to-point journey between some of Ireland's most important and compelling heritage sites to a wider immersive visitor proposition that becomes a 5,000-year journey through time and is a key element of the ancient DEDP.

The key achievements in County Meath to date include the continued growth of the world-class Púca festival, which has contributed greatly to an emerging tourism destination. The Púca festival, developed by Fáilte Ireland in partnership with Meath County Council, plays a key role in attracting visitors who support revenue generation and job creation in local communities. The original Irish Hallowe'en was a time for feasting, gathering and storytelling as darkness turned to light and the shape-shifting spirits roamed the night. The Púca festival is a vibrant and contemporary three-day festival strongly rooted in tradition with a programme of events centred around spectacle, music and food. The festival received national funding of €1 million from Fáilte Ireland in 2024 to deliver a high-quality cultural festival, contemporary and distinct from Hallowe'en events in other cities, all set against the backdrop of an historically authentic setting. With over 49,000 attendees, the Púca festival has played a significant role in establishing this event as a must-see for tourists from local areas and abroad.

I am sure the Deputy is also aware of the work that has been carried out at the Knowth and Brú na Bóinne sites. Knowth is a culturally significant site and a partnership between Fáilte Ireland, the National Monuments Service and the Office of Public Works has enhanced the experience for visitors in Knowth, encouraging more people to visit the site and wider County Meath.

Fáilte Ireland continues to work with the Slane estate to develop its visitor proposition. The strategy centres around the development of a master plan aligning the estate's key assets, namely, the castle and distillery, and other places in the wider estate property linked to the emerging greenway. The current focus is on developing a three-year business plan with specific short-term actions aligned to the master plan. Fáilte Ireland will continue to work with the representatives of Slane Castle, which is a key driver of tourism in County Meath, to oversee the implementation of the business plan.

Meath is also included in the Keep Discovering campaign 2025, with both TV and print adverts to raise the profile of the county and attract both national and international visitors. The campaign reminds Irish and Northern Irish consumers that while they think they know Ireland, there is always something new to discover and encourages everyone to keep discovering.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for the response. I acknowledge the changeover of portfolios between Departments. I say to the Minister and his colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, that there is a real overlap between tourism product in Kells, for example, and arts, culture and sport. For example, the Hinterland Festival of Literature and Arts happens at the end of June and includes contributions from the Kells Type Trail. I encourage the Minister to come to the festival; he would be more than welcome. We also have the Samhain Festival of Food and Culture. Our preseason soccer tournament for kids is among the biggest in Ireland. It plays a significant role in encouraging people into the town. We also have a 36-hole golf course, which is an attraction. We also have the River Blackwater. The anglers in Kells do a fantastic job of maintaining and protecting that natural resource. We also have the likes of Girley Bog, which is just outside the town, as a natural amenity.

I appreciate the Minister's answer but the frustration among the community is that the town is working hard to put itself on the radar when the plans are not there to connect and draw people into the town of Kells. We must tap into the Book of Kells and the name of the town. Considerable numbers of people come to the Dublin area, for example, and there is potential to bring them on day trips to Kells. Is that immense potential being considered?

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I entirely agree with the Deputy that the overlap between arts, culture, sport and tourism is enormous. I refer to the impact of Listowel Writers' Week in County Kerry, for example. All festivals, especially the larger ones, have an impact by bringing people to particular areas. The same is true for sporting events. Money is generated in Limerick by Munster Rugby, as it is in Dublin by Leinster Rugby. There is obvious synergy there and we are acutely aware of that and want it to grow. This year, for instance, we have a committed set of international sporting engagements, including an NFL American football game.

Government is also supporting the Ryder Cup in Adare in 2027 and there is a number of others that will generate not only people coming in for the weekend of the event but also legacy. Such an event generates a huge spin-off for the place it is on, like Adare in County Limerick, for its hinterland and for the entire country. I said to Deputy McCormack that local authorities are the best placed people to know a locality and get people into an area.

The advantage County Meath has that counties in the west and south of Ireland do not have is it has an airport on its doorstep through which millions of people transit per year. The marketing plans for that will have to be geared around, in many cases, short-term stays and - the Deputy is right - getting people out of Dublin. Other counties have done it quite successfully. Look at Wicklow and the impact Glendalough has. It is hugely successful. Kildare has the Japanese Gardens in Newbridge. There is a lot of potential for counties around Dublin to use Dublin as a staging post. That is probably the old Pale. Newbridge, Kildare Village, the Japanese Gardens and Glendalough have done it very successfully.

The heritage that is in County Meath is nowhere else in the world. There are places in the county older than the pyramids, which are all, thankfully, in the charge of the State under the Office of Public Works. We made significant investments there in my time. There is also the advent of a national park. The potential is enormous; it is just about bringing it together. In fairness to Meath County Council, it is doing very positive work in that space.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister is absolutely right. We look to the monastic settlements, the round tower, the high crosses, St. Columcille's House and the Spire of Lloyd. The Minister mentioned those. There are incredible sites of historic significance. The Minister will know, and I suppose it is the point he is making, that local individuals and communities through their effort and initiative have made so much happen, including GAA, soccer and other sports clubs. We have the best handball club in Ireland, I would say. It is a sport that is often under-recognised.

I draw the Minister's attention to a project supported by various Departments which taps into the type trail the Minister mentioned and the association of the Book of Kells with the creative art around type, lettering and font. It is the establishment of a printworks bringing old printers back. It would essentially be a print museum and it is hoped it will be launched and opened in the coming weeks or months. I particularly commend Mark Smith, who is a local community activist and working artist, including with the local authority and mental health organisations, on his role in that. I encourage the type of support provided so far by various Departments to continue, as well as the work with the local community in Kells, the same as in other areas, to ensure the potential that is there is realised. I invite the Minister - and will also invite the Minister, Deputy Burke - to come to Kells to see the huge potential that is there related to his role in the arts and culture and that of his colleague, the Minister of State, in sport.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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No doubt I will get an opportunity. The Deputy might send me the details on that and I will have a look at it. I have had many dealings with Louth and Meath tourism. I know they will set aside their collegiality for the Leinster final but it is great to see the Deputy sitting beside a Louth person. Hopefully, Louth will undo the wrong done to them.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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No, no, no.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I could not agree with the Minister more.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I am just offering an opinion but I wish Louth the best of luck. I wish Meath the best of luck as well but I hope Louth make the breakthrough this year. Louth and Meath County Councils are cheek by jowl with each other and work effectively together. The River Boyne provides an obvious link between the two counties that both are adept at exploiting. There are an awful lot of State assets there. Oldbridge is in County Meath but is essentially a resource for the people of Drogheda and is a massive State resource owned and operated by the Office of Public Works. All the monuments in the Boyne Valley attract tens of thousands of visitors. The most important thing is to get them to spend money. You do not want to put them back onto a bus. It is one thing to get visitors when they are all straight onto a bus to the next place. You have to wonder what value that kind of tourism is to the locality. Getting people to stop and spend is the most important thing.

I had a fair bit of dealing with this in my previous role with responsibility for tourism and OPW and I know Louth and Meath tourism are working hard to get people to stay. In some cases, their proximity to Dublin is a disadvantage. They are within an hour's striking distance on the bus and visitors are back again to have dinner, a few drinks or whatever in Dublin that night. To reverse that is a big challenge. The road improvements made into Louth and Meath mean they become closer which is, in some ways, a disadvantage. They are fortunate to have two good councils working well in the space and I wish them both the best of luck on Sunday.