Marie Moloney (Labour) | Oireachtas source

It cannot be done because Killarney is synonymous with tourism. The work that Killarney people have put into promoting tourism has been phenomenal. They have promoted the town, which has many natural amenities, including the lakes. The Acting Chairman will agree with me because it is his home town as well.
We have such natural beauty around Killarney and Kerry people have come together to promote it. Hoteliers, businesspeople and Killarney Town Council, before it was abolished, unfortunately, carried out a great deal of work for tourism in the area. Those involved are constantly promoting. Fine websites like gokerry.ieand destinationkillarney.ieare continuously promoting what we have.
Kerry has some fantastic tourism attractions such as the Killarney Golf & Fishing Club. It is a fantastic facility. When the Irish Open was held there it was broadcast throughout the world. No amount of advertising could have brought the publicity that we got from that golf tournament. It was fantastic. The telephone was ringing for bookings even as the golf tournament was taking place. In the Maharees we can go windsurfing. Recently, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, gave us the funding to promote a greenway along the old railway track, which goes down to Cahersiveen. This will allow us to promote cycling tours and holidays. Someone referred to cycling as the new golf, because people are really into cycling at the moment. It is a fantastic achievement to be able to establish this greenway along the most scenic route that one could ever see. It is gorgeous. I will invite all Senators to visit it when it is open. I imagine many Senators have taken part in the Ring of Kerry charity cycle. While it is a charity event and raises a great deal of money for charities, which is fantastic, it also brings a great many people to the county. This is great for the hotels, guesthouses, restaurants and the local food industry.
This brings me to food. We have the best quality food in this country. Sometimes I hear people say that if they go to Spain they can get a four-course dinner for €12. This may be so but the quality is nothing like what we have in this country. Our food is second to none. In such places one does not get fresh vegetables and so on; it is simply not the same. When I go away I cannot wait to get back to have a feed of bacon and cabbage or Irish stew. The quality of food in this country is second to none.
We can do so much for ourselves. We have the races and the writer's week in Listowel and the festival of Kerry. There is so much going on. It is fantastic. The tourist season has become longer. It is expanding because we continue to promote winter activities. For example, let us consider Killarney again.