James Carroll (Fianna Fail)

I echo the words of Senator Leyden in regard to the announcement of the jobs creation strategy outlined yesterday by the Taoiseach. In particular, I want to focus on tourism. I had the pleasure some weeks ago to attend the great dig that took place at Annagassan in County Louth, where the ancient Viking site of Linn Duchaill was discovered. According to Dr. Mark Clinton, the dig supervisor, and Dr. Eamonn Kelly, national keeper of treasures and ancient artefacts, this has the potential to highlight more Viking treasure and artefacts than in all of Scandinavia. As an example, York in England has made huge income from having a Viking site. If we focused on what we have on our own island, we could do the same. Agriculture and tourism heritage are two issues that cannot be copied anywhere throughout the world. While the Government has the smart economy plan and it must be pushed to the maximum, we should also keep a key focus on tourism and heritage. We have this great site in our midst in the north east. If we look at what other countries have done with similar ancient sites and how they have developed and marketed them, we could create a huge impact for our country and for the region. I look forward to the Leader's response.