Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Griffin, to the House for what is a very important debate on sustainability and tourism. I acknowledge the work he is doing to promote tourism across the four provinces of Ireland. That is very important. This is a debate on sustainability and I wish to focus on it. I listened earlier to some of the contributions on the staff that work in the tourism sector. It is important that we acknowledge those people who have put in such a great effort and that they have sustainable careers in tourism. I acknowledge the work of the colleges of education that train staff to give the unique experience visitors to Ireland get when they come on holiday.

I have some concerns about the unique selling points. I do not believe that every region should copy and seek to emulate the successful ones. The Minister of State comes from Kerry so he is well aware of the traditionally strong tourism areas in Killarney, Galway, Blarney and Donegal. Recent improvements are evident following the investment by Fine Gael-led Governments in the Wild Atlantic Way, the Waterford greenway, and the Viking Triangle, which is in my area as well. They all add value to the tourism offering. I acknowledge the additional funding for greenways, but I do not think regions should copy existing successes in other regions. I heard Senator Hopkins speak earlier about the Ireland's Hidden Heartlands. I was in Leitrim recently and I was amazed at the beauty of the Shannon area and what it has to offer. It is different to what Waterford has to offer as a coastal county. We have mountains, a greenway and the coast. The Hidden Heartlands have unique selling points in terms of the Shannon and beautiful walks and countryside. Regions need to focus on their natural assets and strengths and sell them. They can be linked to existing success stories. It is important that we would acknowledge that.

I spoke about the natural assets this country has and the historically strong areas. I come from Waterford and we often looked at people arriving on the ferry in Rosslare who drove straight to Blarney and Kerry and passed us by. Now, they stop in places such as Kilmacthomas and in Waterford city to see the Viking Triangle and in the beautiful harbour town of Dungarvan. They experience the greenway, the Comeragh Mountains and coastal towns such as Ardmore, Tramore and other such places. We must build on the existing successes and grow more.

The greenway has been a major success. It was a collaboration between communities, councils and funding from the Department as well. The main motivation came from communities and they were supported by their local representatives. The Suir Valley railway runs alongside the Waterford greenway. The Mount Congreve estate is also alongside the greenway. All of those amenities and tourist attractions are benefitting. It is not just one attraction that brings people to an area; it is a multiplicity of attractions and then people can be referred to other areas in the country.

The Minister of State spoke about activity holidays, which is a growth area. My colleague, Senator O'Reilly, referred to his area of Cavan-Monaghan. We should take an all-Ireland approach to tourism. That includes the North of Ireland. We can build alliances and collaborations with our colleagues in the North. I visited Castlewellan in County Down recently. I also visited Newcastle, which nestles under the Mourne Mountains. It is a beautiful area. I visited a mountain bike park in Castlewellan. We can learn from how people do it in other areas. There is a beautiful facility in Castlewellan that a lot of people from the South and the UK visit. We should develop such facilities in the South as well. We have one in Ballyhoura on the border between Tipperary and Limerick, but we need more activity holiday facilities right around the country that will attract people into rural areas. Cycling, hiking and walking and also cultural and heritage experiences will promote and develop rural enterprise, jobs and economic activity. People do not want fake holidays anymore. They look for history and heritage. That is the reason Waterford city is doing well with its Viking Triangle. There are three museums in one area that look at different periods of history. It is a very attractive proposition for visitors to Ireland.

In west Waterford the St. Declan's way is being developed. It is a pilgrimage trail of 100 km, all the way from Ardmore in County Waterford where St. Declan was based, up to Cashel in County Tipperary. We have the Blackwater Valley, which includes Lismore. Canoeing and kayaking take place on the River Blackwater, which extends from west Waterford into Cappoquin, Tourin and Villierstown. Those are beautiful natural assets that we must promote in the international community.

Before I conclude I wish to refer to the opportunities with cruise liners. We all know that Dublin Port is coming under serious pressure in terms of capacity. There are opportunities for places such as Waterford and Dunmore East - I am sure the Leader will agree with my suggestion of Cork Harbour as well. There is great capacity to bring more cruise liners into the regions rather than having all of the pressure coming on Dublin. We must plan ahead and provide resources to allow that to happen, as it will bring welcome investment.

My final point relates to sustainability. We need competitive prices in this country to make it attractive for tourists to continue to come here. We need access points through our ports and airports. I welcome the recent announcement of investment for Waterford Regional Airport. It is important that we have access points right across the country, especially given the challenge of Brexit, so that tourists can visit. I am concerned about the competitiveness of hotel prices in Dublin. Something needs to happen in that regard. I accept more beds are coming on-stream as new hotels are opening but it is becoming uncompetitive for people to stay overnight in Dublin. The hotel industry must listen to that warning. The alarm bells are ringing. We do welcome tourists to the rest of Ireland and to the regions. I wish the Minister of State, Deputy Griffin, well in his work. I welcome the debate. We have made significant progress. We can grow on the €9.4 billion worth of tourism investment by advancing the many projects mentioned here today.