Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Is it in the ownership of the State? I am glad to have the opportunity to comment on this initiative which is positive and valuable and merits discussion to see how we can improve it. Sinn Féin supports any measure to boost domestic tourism which it hopes will lead to increased employment in the sector and, in so far as The Gathering may do so, it is a positive initiative. We hope that the Irish people and the diaspora respond positively. It has the potential to add to the several million tourists who arrive here each year and we hope it can prove a boost to the economy. However, it should be more than about monetary issues and it should bring the nation closer together as a people, whether abroad or at home, North or South. We are all part of the Irish nation and I hope that this year will offer an opportunity to reflect on that and to enjoy the rich cultural heritage, be it linguistic, literary, artistic, sporting, etc. We need to consider ways in which we can better value the role of the diaspora in Irish life, a point to which I will return later.

I note the event is happening at a particularly difficult time for the people. Perhaps it is needed in such a context but we should be cognisant of the current situation. Someone noted that just as 2013 has been promoted as the year of The Gathering of the diaspora coming home and making a connection once again with Ireland, it has also been called the scattering. I do not wish to be churlish and I do not dispute the value of the exercise but it would take wilful blindness not to recognise that there are thousands of Irish citizens being forced every day to emigrate for work reasons. It is a different debate but the aim of bringing them home and keeping them here must always be in our consideration.

It is right and proper that we would seek to make the diaspora welcome and encourage them to come home and participate in the events that are being organised, be they family, local or national. We share the concerns expressed by Gabriel Byrne regarding Irish emigrants, especially those who have left Ireland due to economic need and the way in which they are treated.

In August 2012, Sinn Féin's finance spokesperson, Deputy Pearse Doherty, visited Australia specifically to engage with the Irish community there. Successive Irish Governments have ignored the plight of the Irish abroad. This is particularly the case with regard to the undocumented Irish in the US and Australia. However, we must do more for the diaspora in the long term to include them in the life of the island. We need to do more to ensure they have a voice in the way we govern ourselves to feel as if they have a stake in the nation. We need to find better ways of including them. The most obvious way is to offer certain voting rights for the Irish abroad, subject to reasonable qualifications. Many have left because they felt they had no option but to emigrate to seek employment and would very much like to come home and would be likely have it as their aim to return eventually. If they intend to return, why should they not have a say in the island to which they are returning?

There is a need for The Gathering to be promoted, as mentioned by Senator Ó Murchú, as an all-Ireland initiative. Sinn Féin has raised the matter previously and I understand that my colleague, Elisha McLaughlin, MLA has met the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Ring, on the matter. I understand the Minister of State shares our view that this should be an all-Ireland initiative. However, the Minister, Arlene Foster, MLA, is not of the same view. That is regrettable. A failure in the North to capitalise on the tourism opportunity provided by the Irish Government's promotion of The Gathering would be unbelievably short-sighted. None the less, I urge the Minister to persevere with the Minister with responsibility for tourism in the North. We will certainly do our part to lend support.

There is much happening in the North this year, the City of Culture in Derry all year as well as Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann. These are the two of the biggest events and they need to be part of The Gathering. Tourism Ireland is the obvious body to work on this issue. I encourage the Minister to continue to work on this as an all-Ireland project and perhaps he can provide an update as to what progress has been made in this regard.

In terms of specific projects there is huge potential in language tourism. I have raised this point previously. Language tourism is an area which is under-exploited and we should seek to use this opportunity to expand on it in the State. Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil suim faoi leith ag an Aire féin ann agus go bhfuil se ag déanamh iarracht faoi leith ó thaobh na Gaeilge trí chúrsaí a dhéanamh é féin agus ag foghlaim Gaeilge chomh maith céanna. Is maith é as sin. Mar sin féin, nílimid ag baint leas as an nGaeilge mar acmhainn eacnamúil agus turasóireachta go dtí an leibhéal ba chóir dúinn a bhaint. Is fiú go leor é cheana féin. Is fiú an Ghaeilge ¤136 milliúin sa bhliain do gheilleagar Condae na Gaillimhe agus b'fhiú ¤14 milliúin iad na coláistí samhraidh don gheilleagar áitiúil i 2007. Tá i bhfad níos mó gur féidir a dhéanamh ina leith seo. Molann Gaillilmh le Gaeilge go mbeadh cúrsa traenála Gaeilge a d'fhéadfaí a chur ar fáil le Fáilte Ireland go dtí na gnóthaí turasóireachta agus fáilteachas sa Ghaeltacht agus níos leithne. Aontaíonn muintir na Gaillimhe liom go bhfuil an Ghaeilge luachmhar don ghnó agus don turasóireacht. Is dóigh le 91% de mhuintir na Gaillimhe go bhfuil an Ghaeilge tábhachtach nó fíor-thábhachtach.

The Gathering is a worthwhile initiative and we in Sinn Féin hope it succeeds in its aims but it should be accompanied by other initiatives such as those I have outlined. There are a number of initiatives in the parochial sense in Galway which catch the attention, one of which is the Roundstone time capsule. Guím gach rath ar an dtóstal agus go néirigh leis an Aire ina chuid oibre.