Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Like other colleagues, I am very disappointed that the plaza on College Green is not going ahead. In many other European cities, one sees that the centre of the city has a plaza. I often reflect on decisions made by An Bord Pleanála. I believe it needs to be radically reshaped. Political accountability is a good thing, not a bad thing. There is no political accountability for An Bord Pleanála. I am open to correction but I do not believe An Bord Pleanála has ever come into the Houses of the Oireachtas to answer questions on some of the decisions it makes. Perhaps it is precluded from doing so. If that is the case perhaps we need to change the legislation in that area.

I wish to speak on another issue I know will be close to an Leas-Chathaoirleach's heart, because he comes from a county that benefits greatly from tourism, which creates thousands of jobs throughout the west coast. We have done so well from initiatives like the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland's Ancient East and so on. The Government's commitment to investing in greenways is the new way to go in terms of developing a year-round weather-resistant tourism product. There are now many people who do not come for the weather.They come because they want to get involved in activities and be on the move. It is what we call healthy tourism.

I request that the Leader invite the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to come before the House in order that he might provide an update on the greenways programme. Additional resources for the programme were announced in the budget, which is very welcome. We could be doing more to promote the greenways. In County Clare, we have a walk along the Cliffs of Moher that goes from Hag's Head as far as Doolin. It is between 8 km and 10 km in length and thousands of people do it every year. The walk requires significant investment. Some 1.5 million people frequent the Cliffs of Moher visitor experience each year. A proportion of the resources generated by the facility needs to be redirected into upgrading the cliff walk and enhancing the partnership that already exists between the local community and farmers and the State agencies which promote the walk. The farmers need to see a greater dividend. The walkway needs to be upgraded and significant money needs to be spent on it. The Minister needs to come before the House and provide an overall presentation on greenways and walkways. In the course of that, he might be kind enough to outline his plans for the future of the Cliffs of Moher walk in County Clare.