Róisín Garvey (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I welcome and thank the Minister. She has done stellar work since assuming her role. I am from north Clare, which is heavily reliant on tourism, and were it not for the work the Minister has done with regard to finances, many tourism businesses there would have closed. I wanted to acknowledge that.

I am happy to support the Bill but wish to make a couple of points. The Minister is working on the development of a new sustainable tourism policy. It is important that we see this work coming to fruition. We want a green tourism agenda, not a greenwashing agenda and there is already some of the latter in the tourism sector. We hear a lot about eco-this and eco-that but when one looks into the product or service, one finds that it is not ecologically sound at all. The Wild Atlantic Way is a good initiative but it also increases driving and has made some roads unsafe. We need the tourism sector to promote public transport to get places and we also need more tourism initiatives that promote walking and cycling. Slow tourism leads to higher spending, yet we had a new Burren driving route presented to us by Fáilte Ireland recently that will increase car traffic in the Burren, an ecological UNESCO site. When I asked the Fáilte Ireland representatives about walking and cycling routes, they said they would come later. We cannot increase the number of cars coming into an area and then hope we will increase participation in walking and cycling.

Where are the segregated bins for tourists? Where are the shuttle services so people can avoid bringing their cars to areas of natural beauty? Why can tourists not be brought to these areas by way of small electric buses? Where are the restrictions on giant tour buses? One-way systems are in operation in County Kerry but we cannot do the same in County Clare. We have asked the tourism operators to do this but they have refused. The Burren eco-tourism network has also asked them but they said "No" so we have this crazy situation where there are giant buses travelling in both directions. Where are the restrictions? This is something that Fáilte Ireland will have to address. Where are the drinking fonts to refill water bottles so that plastic bottles are not thrown into our ditches and all over lovely parts of County Clare and everywhere else?

We need to raise our game. If money is going to be invested in tourism, it must be in sustainable tourism. It is not enough to keep using the word "sustainable". The management of the Cliffs of Moher is looking for lots of money, which is great, but it is not making sure that local villages benefit. It is looking at shuttle buses but is not including the option for local people to use them. It is not giving proper consideration to walking and cycling routes or taking these options seriously.

If we do not get this from Fáilte Ireland down, it will not work and that is something I wanted to make clear today. I welcome the Minister's work on the Bill. She is a great Minister for tourism but she is also a Green Party Minister for tourism. This is the Emerald Isle and that is why people come here but we will lose that attraction if we do not take care of our biodiversity and reconsider how we travel. The slower that people travel, the more they appreciate a place. They fall in love with it and then they come back again.