Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Will the Leader invite to the House either the Minister with responsibility for tourism, Deputy Shane Ross, or specifically the Minister of State, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan, for a general discussion on tourism and the tourism product. The particular challenges to the tourism industry are presented by Brexit, fluctuations in sterling, etc. I am not convinced that we do enough to market Ireland in a uniform sense. We have focused on the south west, the north west and areas in the east. Areas such as the midlands, the lake district from which I am from and the drumlin countryside in Cavan-Monaghan are not focused on sufficiently. They have a particular topography and very interesting features which present great opportunities to engage in interesting and niche holiday pursuits such as walking, etc. There is huge potential to promote cultural holiday breaks in the region. The list includes Patrick Kavanagh, Henry James, Brinsley Sheridan, Dr. William Bedell and Percy French, huge literary figures associated with the area within which there is the potential to develop specific tourist trails. We are very fortunate in having in Cavan County Council an excellent tourism officer, Ms Joanne Hayes, but the point I am making is that I am not convinced there is sufficient investment to market Ireland in a uniform way. We target certain areas in marketing our tourism product and do not give other areas across the country a fair crack of the whip. I ask the Leader, given the challenges presented by Brexit in my region, to arrange as a matter of urgency a discussion on the dispersing of investment in the marketing of our tourism product. Are we marketing all of the country equally? I ask the Leader to respond specifically on the issue.