Rural tourism
Senator Feighan supports more tourism in rural Ireland and cites Lough Key Forest Park as an example of successful local development and EU funding.
I agree with Senator Reilly that we need to do more to encourage tourism in rural Ireland. In my town, many years before I went into politics, I was chairperson of Lough Key Forest Park action group. It is now one of the major tourist attractions in the country. At the time, when we brought the council on board with Coillte, everyone was concerned that Coillte would sell off this huge, fabulous forest park. We brought the council on board with Coillte because Coillte could not draw down European regional development funds. Some 15 years later, we drew down over €12 million in European grants and it is now a tourist attraction. I am saying this because in Boyle town, similar to many other towns, we do not have a flagship hotel. Tourists come to the area but there is no flagship hotel in the town. We seemed to have missed the Celtic tiger practice where hotels were built in places that they were not needed. In this case, there is a tourist attraction but no one in their right mind would build a hotel unless there was some sort of Government intervention, tax break or something similar. There are towns around the country, such as Ballaghadreen, Castlerea and Boyle, which need that vital piece of infrastructure not only for tourism, but also for locals as leisure centres. I appeal for a different look to be given to it.
I welcome the appointment of Ms Kathleen O'Toole to carry out a root and branch review of the Garda Síochána. It is certainly needed. The Garda Síochána was formed in 1922 and my grandfather, James Feely, was one of the first gardaí. I am one of those people who are very proud of the tradition of the Garda Síochána. It is an unarmed force but it has held the line against numerous threats to our State. Someone likened the Garda to the RUC. The Garda was our unarmed force and I am proud of its tradition. If a root and branch review needs to be done, so be it. It probably needs to be done but I am a citizen of this country and I am very proud of its past members, the men and women who have held the line in our State.
