76 Tomás Mac Giolla asked the Minister for Finance if he has read the proposal from a Burren community group entitled Alternatives to the Mullaghmore Visitors Centre and, in particular their proposal for a ring road around the Burren with a visitor centre, guides, information and tours to be sited in the population centres surrounding the Burren rather than in the Burren itself; if he will discuss these proposals with the Department of the Environment and the Department of Tourism, Transport and Communications in order to achieve a reasonable compromise for the development; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

I have read the document "Alternatives to the Mullaghmore Visitor Centre". The planning issues raised in it are primarily a matter for Clare County Council who have responsibility for the orderly development of the county. The proposed visitor centre for the Burren National Park is being considered by that planning authority in the context of the County Development Plan.