Written answers
Monday, 8 September 2025
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Tourism Promotion
Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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728. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the reason, Rathcroghan given the significance of it to the origins of Halloween, it was excluded from the recently launched “Ireland, Home of Halloween” initiative; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47129/25]
Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The ‘Ireland, Home of Halloween Strategy’ which was developed collaboratively by Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland, and Tourism Northern Ireland aims to establish Ireland as the authentic global home of Halloween. The Home of Halloween Destination Development Scheme is a pilot scheme aiming to deliver immersive, culturally rich experiences that celebrate Ireland’s heritage, extend the tourism season into October and November, and stimulate sustainable regional economic growth through collaboration between local authorities, tourism businesses, and cultural organisations. The Scheme was an open call issued to all Local Authorities in 2025. Destination selection was via a competitive application process, however, I understand from Failte Ireland that no application was received from Roscommon County Council.
A total of €2.1 million will be invested in 7 locations across the country over the next three years (2025–2028) under the “Home of Halloween Destination Development Scheme” . Over the course of three years the seven supported projects are projected to attract approximately 337,000 additional visitors, generating an estimated €28 million in economic impact for local communities.
The full list of successful local authorities is:
- Galway City Council
- Longford County Council and Westmeath County Council (joint project)
- Meath County Council and Louth County Council (joint project)
- Kerry County Council
- Fingal County Council
- Limerick City and County Council
- Kilkenny County Council
Finally, the Oweynagat Cave/Rathcroghan will be included in a Tourism Ireland article in its new Halloween PR toolkit, about how Ireland is the authentic home of Halloween; the toolkit will be available this autumn to Tourism Ireland’s database of 20,000 influential international media.
Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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729. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the initiatives currently in place to encourage tourism in County Roscommon; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47130/25]
Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The entire county of Roscommon is encompassed within the Regional Experience Brand of Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands and, as the county with the longest Shannon shoreline, is central to the development of the region as a viable and compelling visitor destination. In 2024, Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands (IHH) welcomed 424,000 overseas and 1.7 million domestic visitors, contributing €259 million and €326 million in revenue to the local economy. A further €33 million was generated from visitors from Northern Ireland.
Destination and Experience Development Plans (DEDPs) are 5-year sustainable tourism development plans for a destination, which bring public and private sector organisations together to prioritise tourism development projects and maximise their chance for success. Roscommon is covered under two of Failte Ireland’s DEDPs as follows:
- North Roscommon forms part of the area covered by the “Upper Shannon, Shannon-Erne, and Border DEDP”, which also includes counties Cavan and Leitrim. The Plan was launched January 2025 and work on its implementation has begun. This will be overseen by an Implementation Group, which comprises key stakeholders from local public bodies and tourism interests.
- A separate DEDP for “Mid Shannon and Midlands” includes South Roscommon, together with Westmeath, Offaly and Longford. Work has already begun on an interim Action Plan before work starts on the development of the plan in 2025.
Furthermore, “Digital that Delivers” is an initiative from Fáilte Ireland designed to power a digital transformation in Irish Tourism businesses (visitor attractions, activity providers and day tours). Now entering its fifth year, this programme has helped to transform the online presence of hundreds of visitor experiences, delivering a step change in their online sales, digital capability, and operational efficiency. The funding awarded to businesses in County Roscommon from 2021 to 15 August 2025 was €42,730.85.
In August, five tourism projects in County Roscommon received almost €700,000 in “Just Transition funding”. The funding was allocated under Fáilte Ireland’s investment grant-aid scheme for private and community SMEs.
Finally, “Keep Discovering” is the cornerstone of Fáilte Ireland’s consumer marketing strategy. The campaign reminds Irish and Northern Irish consumers that while they think they know Ireland, there is always something new to discover and encourages everyone to Keep Discovering. Key initiatives that promote Roscommon as part of the annual campaign included features as part of the IHH Keep Discovering ad which airs throughout the year in ROI and NI over three 3-week bursts on broadcast and video-on-demand TV reaching 55% of the adult population each week when live. This is supported with complementary messaging across YouTube and Social.
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