The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Cllrs disappointed as Tourism not given standalone portfolio
FIANNA Fáil Cllr Niall Kelleher has urged Taoiseach and party leader Micheál Martin to urgently rethink the decision not to devote a stand-alone department to tourism, a sector reeling from the onset of COVID-19 restrictions.
In his outgoing speech as Kerry County Council (KCC) Cathaoirleach, Cllr Kelleher expressed his ‘‘absolute disappointment’’ at the Taoiseach’s decision, and has said that he has contacted his leader in relation to the matter – not just for Kerry’s sake, but for the country’s sake.
‘‘In a county renowned for extending the hand of welcome, when growth projections for tourism in Killarney alone suggested that the total number of visitors to the town was on target to increase to 1.4 million by 2025, it was so very painful to watch it all slowly sliding away’’, Cllr Kelleher said at the recent KCC AGM in the Kerry Sports Academy. ‘‘With that in mind, I must express my absolute disappointment at the decision of the incoming government to include tourism in a seriously over-sized and confusing cabinet portfolio along with five other briefs. We need a Minister for Tourism and not a Minister for Media, Tourism, Art, Culture, Sports, the Gaeltacht and whatever you’re having yourself.
‘‘Now more than ever, our tourism industry needs a standalone ministry to ensure that it is given every chance, every support and every resource is needs to try to rebuild and to try to salvage something from what has been a devastating year.’’
It was a point echoed by numerous Councillors throughout the meeting, receiving support from independent and party-affiliated Councillors alike.
Cllr Jim Finucane (Fine Gael) suggested that the sector be afforded a ‘Super Junior’ Ministry, while Cllr Michael Gleeson (Independent) said Council members had a duty to support the domestic industry by keeping their next holiday within the county. Fianna Fáil’s Fionnán Fitzgerald also backed the concept of ‘staycations’.
Cllr Maura Healy-Rae (Independent) was also among the many councillors to express dissatisfaction with the decision, and she said she was disappointed also that Rural Affairs and Development had not been given its own Minister.