Written Answers - Visitor Centres' Funding.
Tony Killeen
Question:
104
Mr. Killeen
asked the
Minister for Tourism and Trade
the precise role of the co-ordinating committee on the tourism operational programme; and the reason it was not consulted in advance of Government decisions on visitor centres.
[12083/95]
I presume the Deputy is referring to the first Operational Programme for Tourism, 1989-1993 as this was the programme under which visitor centres were approved for funding.
Generally, progress on the implementation of that programme was overseen by a National Monitoring Committee chaired by the Department of Tourism and Trade — formerly, by the Department of Tourism and Transport — and including representatives of Bord Fáilte, SFADCo, the Office of Public Works, the tourism industry, the trade unions, the EU Commission and the Departments of the Environment, Labour, Finance and the Taoiseach. The role of this committee was to seek to ensure full consistency as between programme activity and key strategic objectives.
To assist it in this work the monitoring committee was advised by a co-ordinating committee whose functions were (a) to advise on all technical matters, (b) to ensure maximum integration of measures and (c) to ensure standard application of assessment procedures by the implementing agencies for all project applications for funding.
As to the question of direct administrative responsibility for advancing the development of the visitor centres, while the Department of Tourism and Trade was the national authority in charge of the overall management of the operational programme, the Office of Public Works was the statutory body charged with,inter alia, maintaining and managing national and historic monuments and parks. In this capacity it was responsible also for the administration and implementation of all programme activity falling within its realm of responsibility, including visitor centres.
Recent developments in relation to the centres are the responsibility of the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, whose Department now exercises responsibility for the formulation of national policy in relation to,inter alia, national and historic monuments and parks.
