Natural Heritage Areas
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-26
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Niall Collins (FF), Limerick County

Again, I thank Senator Lynch for raising this. Last December, the Minister, Deputy Burke, launched the new national tourism policy statement, A New Era for Irish Tourism. This strategy sets out a clear vision for growing visitor numbers and associated revenue and employment while ensuring balanced regional development. A key objective under this new policy statement is to spread the benefits of tourism to all regions. This will be a priority consideration for all public investment decisions. In particular, the need to see less mature tourism destinations grow at a faster rate than the traditional tourism regions will be a priority for Government and the tourism agencies. Regional tourism development strategies will continue to be activated through a series of destination experience development plans, and local tourism enterprises will have an enhanced role in the development of these strategies.
Under the new policy statement, tourism agencies will work with the relevant bodies to increase the focus on nature-based tourism opportunities associated with our inland waterways system and landscape, including angling, cruising, watersports and outdoor activities such as walking and hiking.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:42+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-26