Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are well aware that the tourism industry has taken a severe battering since March due to Covid-19. Prior to Covid-19 the tourism industry employed 265,000 people and was worth €9.2 billion to the economy. The tourism industry is resilient and it can recover but we need to do everything we can to help.

Today, I wish to raise the challenges facing St. Patrick's Cathedral, which is undergoing restoration to its roof. I visited the site several weeks ago and saw at first hand the intricate work and detail that is being put into it, with each slate being placed by hand, by experts. Prior to the pandemic, St. Patrick's Cathedral was generally in receipt of no State funding and had planned to pay for the restoration of the roof from the revenues it receives from admission. To date, approximately two thirds of the €9.2 million project cost has been successfully fundraised by the cathedral.

In one year, the cathedral can accommodate up to 600,000 visitors, 90% of them coming from overseas. However, an unintended consequence of Covid-19 has meant St. Patrick's Cathedral has been empty since March, with no visitors, which means there is no revenue. The administrators now face a shortfall of €3 million for the repair of the roof. We all know the cathedral and probably drive by it every day. In terms of its location, antiquity and scale, the cathedral is one of the most important buildings on the island of Ireland. To pause the roof project would entail not only financial risk but a grave physical risk to the future of this historic, medieval building. If we are serious about kick-starting the economy in a post-Covid Ireland, I ask the Leader to ask the Minister to liaise with the board of St. Patrick's Cathedral, with a view to providing the extra funding in order that the cathedral can start welcoming visitors back without delay in the near future once the pandemic ends.