asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce when it is intended to give effect to the Bray enterprises scheme as approved by Bord Fáilte Éireann.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Bray Tourist Development.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if it is his intention to continue tourist development in such areas as Bray, County Wicklow, at the rate prevailing in 1952-1953.
I propose, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to take Questions Nos 4 and 5 together.
The development scheme to which the Deputy refers was submitted to Bord Fáilte Éireann in February, 1955, and included works estimated at the time to cost £134,000 which would not be of a revenue earning character and which the promoters contemplated should be financed by way of a State grant. The remainder of the scheme consisted of works of a revenue earning character estimated to cost £196,000 and it was proposed that a loan should be raised for which the guarantee of the Minister for Industry and Commerce would be sought under the Tourist Traffic Act, 1952. The second part of the scheme could not, however, be undertaken until the works contemplated in the first part of the scheme had been done.
In the course of a reply to a Dáil question by Deputy P. Brennan on the 8th May last year concerning the Bray development scheme, my predecessor stated that he was not in a position to indicate whether it would be possible to make provision for State grants towards meeting part of the cost of non-revenue earning works at tourist resorts. In fact, it was decided in May of last year by the then Minister for Finance that grants for such a purpose could not be made until such time as national expenditure and savings had come more closely into accord.
It is my aim to ensure the maximum possible exploitation of our potentialities in the field of tourism; and I have asked Bord Fáilte Éireann to review the provisions of the Tourist Traffic Acts and submit proposals to me for the amendment of these Acts in any respects that seem to be necessary or desirable.
I attach great importance to the improvement of amenities at our tourist resorts, and, since assuming office, I have had consultations on the subject with Bord Fáilte Éireann, but I am not yet in a position to indicate what steps it may prove to be practicable to take to stimulate the undertaking of such development works by local interests.
So far as the Bray project is concerned, I am informed that, with the assistance of Bord Fáilte Éireann, it is hoped to undertake some minor improvement works at Bray this year.