Vol. 495 No. 5
57 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the plans, if any, he has to put in place an ecological monitoring scheme for all golf related tourism developments in Ireland to ensure that the natural environment is protected at all points in the creation of an ecologically and, ultimately, economically sustainable tourism industry in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19952/98]
All golf related tourism proposals are subject to the requirements of the Planning Acts, 1963-98, and it is a standard condition of Bord Fáilte and EU grant support that the planning process is satisfactorily completed and all necessary permissions secured.
I assure the Deputy that I share his concern for the environment, as does my colleague, the Minister for the Environment and Local Government who is at present considering proposals to ensure that the principle of sustainable development is central to the planning process.
Last year I launched a special pilot tourism and the environment initiative. The objective of the EU co-funded initiative is to generate practical projects which address issues where tourism and the environment interface. My intention is to encourage projects which point to ways of supporting balanced tourism development which sustains the environment on which it is based. The initiative attracted over 120 applications from all over Ireland and last month I was happy to announce that £2.5 million will be made available to the 20 selected projects to assist with the cost of implementation. The progress of these projects will be closely monitored from the point of view of generating lessons on best practice for promulgation amongst the wider tourism industry.
