Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 September 2023
49. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will outline the present and proposed spending in outdoor recreation measures in relation to Waterford city and county; and what future projects are under consideration by her Department. [41578/23]
View answerI ask the Minister to outline the present and proposed spending from the recently announced outdoor recreation measures fund in Waterford city and county, and what future projects are under consideration.
As part of the Our Rural Future policy and the new national outdoor recreation strategy, Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors, I am committed to building on the wonderful opportunities provided by Ireland’s outdoor recreation sector. Indeed, Waterford is a great example of what is possible in this sector.
The outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme, ORIS, provides funding for the development and enhancement of outdoor recreational infrastructure, such as walking trails, cycleways, blueways and mountain trails. Since the launch of the scheme in 2016, funding of more than €106 million has supported more than 1,500 projects across the country, and this includes 46 projects in Waterford, totalling €2.9 million. Earlier this year, I launched the 2023 outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme with an allocation of €16 million, a €1 million increase on 2022. Nine applications have been submitted by Waterford City and County Council under measure 1 of the scheme and the project development measure, and these applications are now being assessed. The deadline for applications under measures 2 and 3 is 27 October. I expect to announce successful projects under most of the measures in the first quarter of 2024.
I should note that outdoor recreation is also supported by my Department in a number of other ways. For example, more than €1.5 million has been provided to 20 recreation-based projects in Waterford under the town and village renewal scheme. My Department’s walks scheme also supports the ongoing maintenance of two important trails in Waterford, St. Declan’s Way and the Anne Valley trail. I was also pleased to approve the appointment of a new rural recreation officer position in Waterford, which commenced last year.
This investment, together with the delivery of the new outdoor recreation strategy, is helping to transform this sector in Waterford and throughout Ireland.
I know the Minister has visited Waterford and I have had the pleasure of accompanying her on some of those visits. She rightly pointed out the very significant number of attractions. We are blessed in Waterford with the topography that we have, with lakes, rivers, mountains and the sea right on our doorstep.
The measures that the Minister is announcing are very welcome. However, it is important that we get good joined-up, strategic thinking. The Minister mentioned the rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF, for areas like Cappoquin, Lismore, Tallow and Ballyduff Upper. This is vital. I would ask that when these projects are being looked at, we would have wide engagement with private sector stakeholders to try to ensure they are aware of the projects that are being proposed and see how we might integrate them into the overall proposition. In that way, we can really flesh these out and make sure that where money is being spent, it is being targeted to give bang for the buck in terms of the tourism and amenity opportunity.
The Deputy is very fortunate to come from Waterford because it is a beautiful county. The Deputy was there when I visited St. Declan's Way and I was also at the fabulous Mount Congreve Gardens, which is such a wonderful amenity. There are 115 km of beautiful walks and scenery and I am delighted my Department has been able to support the projects. Of course, there is also the Waterford greenway, which is a big tourism draw for the county. Since the pandemic, as we all know, there is a newfound appreciation for the outdoors.
These projects are identified at local level by the local authorities, which could engage with local stakeholders and make them aware of what is coming. That would mean there are opportunities because when we develop these walkways or some of the outdoor recreation spaces, the coffee shop, or even the mobile coffee shop, springs up, and that all brings extra income to an area.
The infrastructure fund is in my Department. It is a great scheme that is supporting the development of walking trails, blueways, forest parks, mountain bike trails and so on. There are many very good projects in Waterford, as the Deputy will know. The Cappoquin railway bridge loop walk got €500,000; the Anne Valley walk got €142,000; the Crough Wood trailhead got €365,000; the Mahon Falls project in the Comeragh mountains got €200,000; and the Copper Coast walking trail has been given €50,000 for a feasibility study. If the Deputy encourages people to come forward with the ideas, we are happy to support them.
The Minister has done a fair advertising job there in terms of speaking about the amenities that are on offer. There are two that I would like to highlight and they may well be on the Minister's desk already, and those are the development of the blueways, particularly on the River Blackwater - the Minister referenced Cappoquin - and the Waterford estuary. We have great visitor attractions but, ideally, we need to try to develop great destinations where people will stay over, not just visit for an hour or two and move away. We are trying to develop a more long-term tourism proposal around all of these and that is why the RRDF and URDF - the urban and rural regeneration and development funds - are very important to try to give support in terms of accommodation and commercial business offshoots that can be developed around these projects.
I thank the Minister for her support, and she has been very supportive, to be fair. I look forward to engaging with the local authority. As I said, we will come to the Minister with further projects and I hope she will have a kind and listening ear.
It has been my pleasure to travel to Waterford a few times and I will be delighted to get back down again to see more of the projects. The good news is that I will be announcing more projects early next year. The applications have not closed for measures two and three. They will be closing on 27 October. They will be coming in at the end of October and then they will be assessed. We will announce the successful applications in the first quarter. As I said, get the applications in, because they are a great asset to the whole area. They do bring people in. In particular, the forest walks are becoming very popular. Adventure tourism is the way forward. We have a lot of natural amenities. We need to build on those and bring more people into the various areas. Of course, they are very lucky in Waterford because they have a coastline as well. We do not have that in Monaghan.
They do not have that in Monaghan.
