Tourist Accommodation
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-26
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Dara Calleary (FF), Mayo

The Deputy is a super sub today.
Under my Department’s rural development investment programme, a range of schemes provide capital funding with a focus on the economic and social development of our rural areas. The schemes do not, however, include a specific focus on the provision of hotel accommodation. A limited number of projects have been supported by the rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF, and the town and village renewal scheme, which have seen short-stay accommodation facilities included, as part of a wider, multifunctional project. Similarly, while LEADER does not generally support hotel-based projects, it has supported projects related to tourist accommodation, for example, through support for glamping projects and other tourism-focused initiatives.
In all cases in terms of funding, many of those tend to be towards community, co-operative-based initiatives. More widely, the sustainability of rural businesses including tourism and hospitality is clearly enhanced by the provision of public and community infrastructure. The funding made available by my Department through a range of schemes such as RRDF and the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme, ORIS is clearly having positive impacts in this regard.
At cross-governmental level, responsibility for business enterprise and tourism resonates with my colleague, Deputy Burke, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. This includes responsibility for the national tourism policy statement, A New Era for Irish Tourism, which was published in December 2025 and sets out the Government's long-term approach to the development of tourism. I can confirm as part of my Department's ongoing work developing the successor policy to Our Rural Future, my officials are engaging with the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment in respect of its remit.
My officials are engaging with the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment in respect of its remit. The next iteration of Our Rural Future will include a focus on both rural tourism and rural enterprise generally. Work on the development of the policy is ongoing. It is drawing on a wide-ranging consultation process and I hope to be in a position to publish it before the summer.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-26