Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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214. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht when the 2021 annual report for Tourism Ireland will be published. [62923/22]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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My Department submits annual reports and accounts of all State bodies under its aegis to the Government, in advance of their being laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas. In addition, it is standard practice that each body will publish their annual report and financial statement once the documents have been submitted and laid as outlined above.

The Department prepares the annual reports and accounts of bodies under its aegis for submission and laying before the Houses of the Oireachtas once the audit certificate is issued by the Comptroller and Auditor General and the financial statements/accounts are submitted to the Department.

I can confirm that my Department has received the annual report and accounts for 2021 for Tourism Ireland which have been approved by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The report will now be brought to Cabinet for noting at the earliest opportunity and will be subsequently laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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215. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she is considering taking an interest in Shannon Heritage in the context of preserving and enhancing the State’s tourism offering. [63109/22]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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My officials are participating in an interdepartmental group, chaired by the Department of Transport, to consider the possible transfer of key Shannon Heritage sites to the relevant local authorities. While Shannon Heritage DAC is part of the Shannon Group Plc which comes under the aegis of the Minister for Transport, it is recognised that these sites are an important part of the wider tourism offering in Clare and Galway, and in the wider mid-west region.

My Department's role in relation to tourism lies in the area of national tourism policy. Implementation of that policy is a matter for the tourism agencies, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, as well as other bodies. While my Department provides capital funding to Fáilte Ireland to invest in the tourism product offering, it does not have a role in the administration of its funding programmes and nor does it have discretionary funding to assist with individual tourism proposals. Fáilte Ireland is available to offer advice to current Shannon Heritage sites on the development of those sites.