Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fíor fáilte roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach. Tá sé ag obair go dian agus tá obair iontach á dhéanamh aige.

As someone who is originally from Connemara, the beautiful thing about being in the Seanad is that I do not have a constituency. Dublin has many visitors. In the Fáilte Ireland survey it was stated that a lack of capacity remains in Dublin city centre, resulting in large groups being turned away, something of which planners in Dublin city must take account. In previous years, I witnessed hotel closures in Tallaght. We should strive to drive more of the tourism out of the city and into urban and suburban areas such as Dublin south-west and Tallaght where there is beautiful scenery such as the Dublin mountains.

Walkways are not used enough. Tourism Ireland is now playing a blinder in trying to get people to use the Dublin walking way and visit the Dublin mountains. Many tourists come to Dublin and go on bus tours. There is a lovely bus tour around the Dublin mountains and the south-west. I am from the most scenic part of Ireland, but those from Kerry might disagree.

I want to pay particular attention to sustainable tourism and responsible planning, which we have to take into account in terms of our beautiful scenic areas. We only have one sustainable environment and we must protect it and make optimal use of our environmental resources. Sustainable Tourism Ireland has a brief, in terms of helping to conserve our natural heritage and biodiversity. Hotels should be encouraged to reduce, reuse and recycle, install solar panels, recycle water and use energy efficiently because we are at a crisis point. We have to ensure our energy consumption, water usage and conservation are monitored. The chemicals used in the industry must be addressed. One could say that we cannot insist on everything being friendly to biodiversity, but it should be encouraged.

Unnecessary night time lighting is spoiling the country. In recent years planning permission has been granted for small developments in country areas for which night time lighting must be provided. One would think one was in an urban area.