Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to address this matter. As she will know, Shannon Heritage is the tourism attraction division of the Shannon Group. It comprises Bunratty Castle, King John's Castle, Craggaunowen Castle and Knappogue Castle. It has the management contracts for a number of other facilities around the country. As the Minister of State will know, this business was transferred from the old Shannon Development into the Shannon Group when Shannon Airport was established as an independent entity and it was also added to with the assets of Shannon Development.

The true potential or past glory of Shannon Heritage has not been seen in the region for some time. The flagship attractions of Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, as it is known all over the world, has been responsible for driving enormous tourism not only through County Clare but through the wider west and mid-west region. It has been of major benefit over the years to activity at Shannon Airport and I have long campaigned for its survival and protection. It has true potential. Those facilities need to be modernised and upgraded and, effectively, made relevant to what the current tourism industry wants. It is a unique attraction that together with the other facilities I mentioned has provided such good employment and helped create jobs in the wider region, particularly in hospitality businesses and other support services.

Plans are at an advanced stage to transfer the business to Clare County Council, which is a good fit. The council has shown a capacity to operate tourism attractions at the Cliffs of Moher, which was operating very successfully prior to the lockdown associated with the pandemic. The council also has developed a very nice facility at the lighthouse at Loop Head. It is part of a slow tourism offering in the west Clare area. My colleague, Councillor Cillian Murphy, had been to the fore in developing the attractiveness of the west Clare area and the Loop Head Peninsula, in particular. The council purchased an island on Lough Derg in recent years and is currently working on proposals to develop a tourism attraction centre for that ancient monastic settlement in the village of Mountshannon.

Clare County Council has demonstrated a capacity to be a good operator of tourism attractions. It is clear it is better for Shannon Airport to concentrate on developing and driving passengers and freight through the airport and I know it wants to do that. That will be a big enough challenge for it in light of what has happened during the Covid-19 pandemic. They are making good efforts there. We will see transatlantic business begin again in March and increased activity into the UK and other tourism destinations. What we now need is a definite timeline to bring this process to a conclusion. The tourism season in the Clare area usually kicks off in early March.It is certainly well under way by St. Patrick's Day.

Staff need certainty about their future and tour operators need certainty that the facilities are operational and up to a high standard. We need to see investment, particularly in Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, and money is needed to upgrade those facilities. Craggaunowen and Knappogue also need money to make them fit for purpose and operational to attract tourists to the Clare area, and the wider mid-west and west will benefit from that too. Government funding to keep the lights on and to pay staff will be needed, in particular to support the transfer from one entity to the other. Operational funding will also be needed. It is clear these facilities are not going to be able to wash their face in the short term, frankly, because while the tourism potential is there, it is going to take time to build and grow, and funding will have to be put in place to ensure that happens. There will also be a necessity to invest significant capital funding in upgrading these facilities.

I know there are different initiatives with Fáilte Ireland to support that but we need to bring them together. We need a timeline for action to deliver these tourism attraction facilities, which employ so many people - upwards of 140 at peak season - but also benefit the wider attractiveness of the west of Ireland from a tourism perspective.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Dooley for giving me the opportunity to discuss this issue. I assure the Senator that the Government appreciates and acknowledges the strategic importance of Shannon Heritage and of the heritage sites in the mid-west region, which is a significant tourism offering, not only for the region but for the country. I am keenly aware of the devastating impact that Covid-19 has had on Shannon Heritage, given its heavy dependence on international tourists visiting the heritage sites. Early in the Covid-19 crisis, the Government implemented a range of horizontal economy-wide supports, and Shannon Heritage has rightly and appropriately benefited from these supports, including the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS. Shannon Heritage also availed of the Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS, and the Covid adaptation grant.

The Senator will be aware that in response to the impacts of Covid-19 and also the imperative to maintain the intrinsic heritage value of the sites in the mid-west region for current and future generations, Shannon Group is continuing to engage with the relevant local authorities in regard to the transfer of the Shannon Heritage business and key sites. Shannon Group considers that this is the best way to secure the longer-term viability of the business and the interests of Shannon Heritage employees. Due to the complexities involved in the transfer, due diligence exercises must be concluded by the local authorities involved. Once the due diligence work is complete and the final business transfer agreements signed, Shannon Group will be in a position to seek the formal consent of the Minister for Transport and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to execute the transfer of the business and the relevant heritage sites, and this will be done with the agreement of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

I can also advise the Senator that OPW has agreed to re-engage on its maintenance responsibilities in regard to the conservation and maintenance role at Bunratty Castle and King John's Castle. In preparation for undertaking this role, the OPW has been carrying out the necessary assessments of both buildings to inform the programme of works needed and the associated costs. I am continuing to engage with the OPW in this regard.

Before any possible transfer is executed, it remains the responsibility of Shannon Group to operate and manage the Shannon Heritage business in line with its commercial mandate and fiduciary best practice, and with awareness of the group's accountability for the proper management of the company. While Shannon Group was due to close Bunratty and King John's Castle in September 2021 for the winter season, the continuation of Government supports through the extension of the EWSS has meant that Shannon Group was able to revise its decision and keep the sites open for the remainder of 2021 and into this spring, although with reduced opening hours. I understand that Bunratty and King John's Castle are currently open on a four-day week basis until March 2022, and I am pleased to advise the Senator that it is envisaged that the sites will reopen fully in April.

Despite the ongoing impact of Covid-19, I am happy to inform the Senator there were some positive developments in regard to Shannon Heritage last year. Almost 500,000 visitors visited the Shannon Heritage sites in 2021, which represented a 64.2% increase on 2020 visitor numbers and was 17.5% higher than the visitor numbers forecast by Shannon Group for last year.This reflects a strong performance in the second half of the year following the site closures due to the nationwide restrictions in the earlier part of 2021. I am confident that we are at a turning point and that we will see a further increase in visitors to our tourism sites this year, which is to be welcomed as a positive development.

I want to reassure the Senator that our heritage sites are of huge importance to this Government. We need to do everything we can to ensure they and their employees have a viable future.

Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State. I really appreciate her commitment and that of the Government to the recognition of the strategic importance of Shannon Heritage to the tourism offering of the island of Ireland. People in the mid-west are more than well aware of its importance and it is particularly pleasing to know that the same is true at the heart of Government. The Minister of State's goodwill and her positive sentiment is accepted wholeheartedly but we need her to use her good offices to support the project, which I know she will do because she is committed to it. I ask her to ensure that it gets a speedy transfer from one location to another. It is still remaining, effectively, within State control so while the due diligence issues are important, they should not be insurmountable.

What is critically important is a commitment from central government to provide appropriate funding, in the first instance to assist with the day-to-day activities of the company because Clare County Council is not necessarily a revenue-generating operation in the way that the airport company would be. I am very pleased that the OPW is on board again. Its financial strength as well as its expertise and skills are really important in the protection, preservation and future development of these historic facilities.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Dooley and reiterate that the Government recognises the importance of these heritage sites. I acknowledge that this is a time of great uncertainty for many of the employees of Shannon Heritage but I understand that Shannon Group is continuing to engage with the staff on this matter and that in the context of any future change to the ownership and operation of the businesses, it will be mindful of the need to secure the long-term viability of the business and the interests of Shannon Heritage employees.

I assure Senator Dooley that my Department will continue to support the Shannon Group in its engagement with the relevant authorities to secure the future of Shannon Heritage. There are clear synergies between the Shannon Heritage business and the tourism strategies being developed within the county and region. Clare County Council is seeking to develop a whole-of-county tourism experience in which Shannon Heritage sites like Bunratty Castle and Folk Park can play an integral part. Shannon Airport is also relevant here. Its services to 25 destinations, with 107 weekly flights planned for this summer will really help the tourism drive, and the resumption of transatlantic flights will not just benefit the region but also these particular tourism sites. I look forward to continuing engagement with Shannon Group to secure the future of the Shannon Heritage business and the staff employed there.