Grace O'Sullivan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and it is great to see him back in the Seanad. It is great to hear that tourist numbers are up. Ireland, as an island nation, has something to offer tourists. As has been said, people come here not only to see this country's natural beauty but they also come for the culture, heritage, pub life and everything else that is available here.

I would like to discuss slow tourism. Fáilte Ireland has plans to develop slow tourism in Ireland in terms of lakes and waterways. However, it is imperative that people who come here for a cycling holiday have good transport and cycling networks across Ireland. At present this country is part of the EuroVelo route. That means people can come from the UK, the Netherlands, Spain or France with their bicycles and they can cycle. If they have arrived in Rosslare Harbour they can cycle along the EuroVelo route, which is fantastic. We, as a nation, must embrace the opportunity to become part of European initiatives that will help, like Senator Conway has mentioned, to provide creative and innovative options for tourists.

Yesterday, I was delighted to be invited to attend a heritage day in a rural village called Larha in north Tipperary. The village has incredible heritage and the inhabitants from the village and its surrounding area are delighted to be part of Ireland's Hidden Heartlands. The village is located between the M6 and M7 motorways and so it is a little bit off the beaten track. These small rural communities will create mechanisms that allow them to grow their tourism offerings if the signposting is good and there is sufficient support provided. If the Minister of State had been at the heritage day yesterday he would have experienced the ancient castles, etc., in beautiful sunshine. That is just one of many rural areas that needs support in order to develop and have something to offer tourists.

I would like to draw the Minister of State's attention to the skills deficit in terms of cross-departmental work. As other colleagues have said, there is a shortage of 5,000 chefs in the hospitality sector at present, which has put a lot of strain not only on large hospitality offerings but on small family-run businesses. The latter must compete with larger hotels to attract chefs. I suggest that an apprenticeship or a buddy system is put in place. In the old days a chef could avail of a buddy system whereby one person would assist him or her until certain skills were developed. In other words, chefs learned in situ. Perhaps we could view apprenticeships as taking place in institutes of technology and in the catering sector when there is a dire shortage of certain staff. Such a scheme would be a pathway for people to become skilled chefs or alleviate areas wherever a skills deficit has been identified.

I want to talk about the beautiful beaches in this country, particularly ones that have been awarded a blue flag. We are lucky to be experiencing a big influx of tourists who come here for many reasons, including to surf, for birdwatching, cycling or just to see the scenery.I ask that the number of lifeguards be assessed to make sure there are sufficient numbers on the beaches around Ireland, in particular during high season, and that people are safe when using beaches. I also ask the Minister of State to liaise with the Department of Education and Skills as water safety skills should be a mandatory part of the primary school curriculum. I am thinking of the big picture in developing a significant pool of young school leavers who would know what to do in the event that they or someone in the communtiy gets into difficulty in the water. It would also help in making sure people who come here to enjoy our tourism offering would be protected.

The Minister of State referred to the Deise Greenway in County Waterford. Between March and September 2017 it received approximately 250,000 visitors, of whom 141,906 cycled and 105,639 walked the greenway, of whom 94% said their overall perception was either excellent or good, 70% mentioned that they liked the scenery and nature, 51% said they liked being away from traffic, 36% talked about the peace and quiet and 18% referred to friendliness. It is a major success for County Waterford, but we need to keep the momentum going and get small businesses to support it in order that it will not be a once-off wonder. The Government should invest in it to make sure it will be sustainable into the future.