Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is a pleasure to support this Bill. Some of the statistics the Minister gave us are interesting such as 35,000 visitors attending Johnstown castle each year. However, this is nothing to what it should be; it should be ten times that number. The Johnstown Estate comprises 1,000 acres, almost 2 sq. m. I support the provision of a burial area and graveyard for the community of Murrintown. It has been on the agenda for some time and I am glad this matter will be concluded for once and for all.

I have been critical of this and previous Governments for the lack of investment in facilities that could create jobs in my county, Wexford.

The most recent statistics I received indicate there are 12 IDA Ireland-backed companies in County Wexford. In 2011, they employed 2,060 people out of 160,000. Wexford is not a small county but we have a very small percentage, some 1.3%, of IDA Ireland foreign direct investment jobs. However, we are very good in some areas, one of which is tourism. We are not the best in the country but we are good and we are improving. The proposal will be a benefit to tourism in the county, but it will not just be a benefit in terms of this single stand-alone project in that there will be a synergy with other tourism facilities. Senator Walsh referred to some of them. They include Tintern Abbey, Ferns Castle, Dunbrody, the Kennedy Homestead and the National Heritage Park. A marketing plan is required for all of them rather than for one or two individual sites. Synergy is essential between all the sites.

The castle could be used for recreation but it could also be used for civil ceremonies for weddings. Depending on the usage of the funds allocated in the 2014 budget, I would be hopeful the €2.5 million would be used to the best possible extent without displacement. If civil ceremonies take place, I hope hotels in the area would not be displaced by the provision of competition. I would not like catering companies to be involved in providing full wedding facilities at the castle. Other companies and individuals have invested in their corporate entities, be they hotels or other facilities for civil ceremonies, and after-wedding celebrations and I would not like Johnstown Castle to come into competition with them because there would be no competition.

The farm machinery museum is located at Johnstown Castle. Much of the machinery would have been lost otherwise, which would have been a loss to County Wexford’s heritage as a lot of it was built in the county at a time when the construction of agricultural machinery was common. The Pierce Ironwork Foundry in Wexford town was a major company in that regard.

It is important that we support the areas we are good at. Some counties are good at protecting heritage. We have national heritage in the southern part of the county and a different version of tourism in the northern part of the county but that is a different debate which comes within the scope of another Minister. There are other ways in which we must support tourism in order that we can employ people and get them back to work. My colleagues from Waterford have beaten the drum for their area. It is a catastrophe for people who lose jobs. I am not indifferent to the 200 people in Bausch and Lomb who will potentially lose their jobs and the others who are faced with a 20% cut in their salary. However, we must be proactive in other areas and ensure that the State can step up to the mark. The State is stepping up to the mark with this facility which is badly under-utilised. I hope we can use it in a better way. I fully support the measure. I doubt anyone from County Wexford would be against it.

I echo Senator Barrett in saying that a cost-benefit analysis must be carried out. We cannot just throw money at the project, hold our breath and hope to God it will work and is a good idea. It is a good idea, but synergy with other tourism facilities is required. I hope that a potential marketing campaign for Tintern Abbey, Dunbrody, the Kennedy Homestead, the National Heritage Park and others will ensure we can bring more people to County Wexford and they will leave money behind and have a good tourism experience in the county.