Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 November 2013
6. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the progress that has been made in developing Spike Island as a tourist attraction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46977/13]
View answer10. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the actions being taken to promote and develop the tourism potential of Spike Island and the Cork Harbour area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46978/13]
View answerI ask these questions in light of the recent welcome decision by Fáilte Ireland to approve the application by Cork County Council for funding for the Fortress Spike Island project. As the Minister of State is aware, the island is in Cork Harbour. There are three strands to the project: the military history of Spike Island and the Cork Harbour defence, the prison life and transportation stories and an artillery and military equipment display. I am interested in the plans to develop this fantastic resource in the centre of Cork Harbour.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 10 together.
While my Department provides capital funding for investment in tourism product development through Fáilte Ireland, it is not directly involved in the development and promotion of tourism attractions. However, I am informed that the board of Fáilte Ireland recently approved a grant of €2.5 million to Cork County Council for the development of the Fortress Spike Island experience.
The Fortress Spike Island project is to be developed around three principal themes - military heritage, penal heritage, and stories of enforced transportation. These themes will allow visitors to get a real sense of the place of Spike Island in Irish history and indeed the wider history of the British Empire and the world. These are also areas in which there is strong interest, both in Ireland and overseas, especially Great Britain. It also resonates with the decade of centenaries that we have now entered on the island of Ireland. I am informed that the council presented a detailed market assessment indicating that the proposed development on Spike Island will have a broad appeal across many international tourism market segments.
I also understand that Cork County Council placed its application for funding in the context of the interpretive framework for Cork city and harbour, which was commissioned by Fáilte Ireland to guide the tourism development of the area. That will place Spike Island as part of the wider effort to maximise the tourism potential of Cork and its harbour in coming years, which the tourism agencies will continue to support directly and indirectly. I look forward to the completion of the Fortress Spike Island experience, which will play a key part in the development of tourism in the Cork city and harbour area in the coming years.
I thank the Minister of State for his positive reply and for the assistance and support he has given to this important project for Cork Harbour and the region. I have three short supplementary questions and I would appreciate it if you will allow me to come in later after the Minister of State's response, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. As the Minister of State indicated, we are now within the decade of centenaries and next year we will commemorate the start of the Great War, which took place from 1914 to 1918. Would the Minister of State consider asking Cork County Council and Fáilte Ireland to jointly organise a series of events and a conference to highlight the role played by Spike Island and Cork Harbour in the Great War? Would he also consider asking Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland to arrange for public advertising and television documentaries that could be shown in Britain and elsewhere to highlight the significant role played by Irish people in the Great War and to encourage British tourists to come and visit the many military sites constructed by the British, including Spike Island in particular?
I recently read about Spike Island and the thousands of people who died there. The activities that went on were amazing, but they have been air-brushed out of history. The Great War is a huge historical event and it is justifiable that it should be commemorated now.
There has always been a great interest in all aspects of history in this country. People come here to find out about matters of historical interest. We will deal with the positives first. A project worth €2.5 million in Cork Harbour is a welcome development that will add to the tourism product in the Cork area. In addition, the Wild Atlantic Way in Kinsale and west Cork will make Cork a major tourism attraction.
I have no difficulty asking Fáilte Ireland to talk with Cork County Council, because local authorities and Fáilte Ireland should work together. Every council in this country should have a tourism remit, because that is the way forward and that is an area in which we will create jobs. I have no difficulty asking Fáilte Ireland and Cork County Council to see whether they can work out a plan for next year.
I am sure the Minister is aware that more than 40,000 people were transported to Australia and Tasmania up to 1893. A significant number of those so-called convicts were transported through Spike Island and Cork Harbour. Would the Minister of State consider the construction of a national memorial on Spike Island and also to arrange for a similar memorial to be constructed in Australia? That would strengthen the links between Ireland and Australia and recognise the significant role Irish immigrants played in Australian life. Spike Island was the largest prison ever built in Britain and Ireland. At its peak, 2,300 felons were held there. It is really important to make the linkage for tourism and other reasons now that Spike Island is being developed.
A memorial would be a matter for the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Deenihan, and I advise Deputy Stanton to raise the matter with him. I am aware of the military and penal heritage of Spike Island and its transportation history. Everyone in the country knows that Spike Island was a prison. IRA prisoners, among others, were incarcerated there. The island has a major history. I wish to see the €2.5 million being spent and the project being developed. The project will add to the tourism product available in Cork, particularly in the harbour area.
As Deputy Stanton is aware, it took a long time to put the plan together. The plan had to go back to Fáilte Ireland for a second time. I hope the project can be brought to fruition with the funding provided by the county council and the Leader programme. It will be a great addition to the tourism product. I look forward to the development and I hope it will become one of the major tourism attractions in the Cork area, particularly in the harbour area. Having a water amenity such as the harbour is an asset to an area. I am pleased to see Cork using it.
I welcome the capital funding from Fáilte Ireland, which was a huge boost to the east Cork area. The history of the area is significant. There is potential to attract tens of thousands of visitors to the area each year. In order to be successful we must promote the development both domestically and internationally. What is being done in that regard and what category of tourist do we want to attract?
Is the Minister of State aware that 1 million Australian tourists visit the United Kingdom each year and that they spend more than £1 billion there? Does he agree that there is a major opportunity to highlight the connection between Spike Island and Tasmania in Australia and to link the areas?
Would the Minister of State consider arranging for the designation of the artillery and military equipment display in Spike Island as the national artillery and military equipment display? Does he not agree that this would be a fitting tribute to the role played by the Defence Forces, particularly in light of the centenary of the 1916 Rising in 2016?
Will the Minister of State consider bringing together three elements of his portfolio, namely ports, public transport and tourism, to establish a public water taxi system in Cork Harbour similar to the one operating successfully in other countries? Does he agree that this initiative could be the stimulus for the development of a significant tourism product in Cork Harbour that would demonstrate how joined-up, imaginative thinking could stimulate significant tourism growth in such a beautiful area? This is within his power. It would complement the great work being carried out by Cork county and city councils, Port of Cork, Fáilte Ireland, UCC and CIT. It would make Cork's harbour and city and Spike Island significant tourist destinations.
With regard to Deputy McLellan's point, people all over the world love to return to Ireland to check out its history and military heritage. It is a great tourism attraction.
On Deputy Stanton's question, I want to see the development built. The Deputy is quite correct that this could be discussed with Fáilte Ireland and the council. It would certainly be under the remit of the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Jimmy Deenihan. Too many artefacts around the country are in storage in buildings in this city and elsewhere. I would like to see them on display such that they could be seen by the people. I would love to see historical artefacts pertaining to Cork brought there, just as artefacts found in Mayo have been brought to the museum in Castlebar where people from Mayo and all over the world can see them when they visit. The location in Cork was a military base and I would love to see it developed. The first step entails the €2.5 million, the Leader and county council money, and getting the development built. Thereafter, the council and Fáilte Ireland can discuss how it can be developed further. There is great potential.
