Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

That is all right. I will start again. I offer hearty congratulations to my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin. I know she will do a fantastic job and she has all the experience and passion required for this role.Tourism is where culture, economy and mobility come together, hopefully not to collide but to enhance each other.

I will begin with the economy. My constituency of Galway West is good example, which I will use today. We are completely reliant on tourism. Having spoken to the Galway Chamber, the expected occupancy rate for hotels in Galway is between 11% and 14% for the off season. Many of the measures outlined today in the stay and spend, employment wage support scheme and the restart grant are really welcome. I would love to hear the Government is open-minded in regard to seeing that it is working and looking at tax, including VAT, in time.

When I was a councillor, the council spent a great deal of time trying to think of innovative ways to support tourism throughout the seasons because we were so reliant on it, such as ensuring there were comedy festivals during the off-peak season to encourage people to visit. Those festivals will not go ahead to the same extent, which is why we so desperately need the support.

I will take the opportunity to mention ecotourism. The programme for Government and the commitments around greenways and fast rail will all enhance the sector. It is not only about investing in the sector, as was the case before Covid, but it is also about finding new opportunities, such as adventure tourism, which I will engage in with my family in Galway and Mayo. I encourage others to think creatively about their own holidays here. These sectors need support now to get off the floor. It is not only about restarting but also starting new, innovative, businesses. Now is the time to look at the completion of the Connemara greenway, the urban greenway, the Salthill Barna greenway and to invest in adventure tourism to get it off the ground. I am delighted to see the islands are now open for business. They have lost much business and need further support because they opened so much later than other parts of Ireland.

On culture, the Minister announced the effective restarting of Galway 2020. I have spoken about this a lot. If Galway 2020 is extended, it is important we be afforded its full accounts. That is something I have constantly asked for. There is a commitment to have more local acts. I would like to see the list for that as it was not forthcoming at last week's council meeting. We need to be assured that other artists who are not involved in Galway 2020 will have their arts grants awarded to them this year and in coming years.

On mobility, I note Iarnród Éireann took into consideration the overcrowding on its services the Friday before last. I was on one of the overcrowded trains where people were sitting and standing in the aisles. When I was on the train again last Friday, there were none of the same issues. That shows that we are taking the issues on board. Many buses are not yet up and running. City Link and Go Bus have not yet restarted which means there is huge pressure on the other operators such as Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann. The Government is doing a good job in ensuring that when these problems arise, we act quickly. Let us do the same for our tourism and our economy and see where the people who have been forgotten in this are and ensure they are not forgotten into the future.