I think I asked at the end of the Second Stage whether this register of camping sites would preclude, say, a person from letting a caravan in on some ground he might have adjacent to the sea, not being a progressive commercial venture. I take it this is for commercial ventures on a reasonably large scale?
Committee on Finance. - Tourist Traffic Bill, 1965: Committee and Final Stages.
Section 1 agreed to.
SECTION 2.
Question proposed: "That section 2 stand part of the Bill".
That is the object of the section, to control and create proper caravan sites and camping sites, and it would not affect the positioning of an individual caravan on a particular farm.
It may well be that what I have in mind might reach the stage at some time of coming under the register regulations.
Of course, the main sanction that Bord Fáilte has in this is, first, that it will not list any caravan parks or camping sites that are not registered. Secondly, no one may advertise in any booklet or publication or on the outside of premises to the effect that an unregistered caravan site exists, or label it as such. If caravans are placed in a field and there is no mention of the existence of the caravan site and it is not published in any form as a caravan site, then such a site comes under the regulations of the local authority for sanitary purposes.
What type of inspector will control it?
The inspectors appointed by Bord Fáilte for hotel purposes will have to deal with these sites. Under another section of the Bill, the regulations for registration will have to be approved by the Minister for Local Government. Therefore, there can be co-ordination between the registration of caravan sites by Bord Fáilte, the provisional planning under the Planning Act of 1963 and the sanitary regulations. There will be co-ordination and consistency of approach in this matter.
I feel sure the Minister is aware that a number of speculators are moving in to purchase sites. Does he not consider this is unfair to people who are short of the necessary finance to develop such sites in accordance with the provisions of this Bill? Could he do anything to help these people to meet their financial liabilities in this respect?
I have no power to interfere in that matter, but, as the Deputy knows, in his county the county manager has taken rather stern action to prevent undesirable speculation in property by imposing temporary building prohibition in a wide area of scenic attraction. Deputies have been saying that he is being too stringent but his feeling, in common with other county managers, is that there must be a final plan approved before he will permit such building. I have no reports of speculators moving in and I do not think I have power to stop them.
Quite a number of people will be unable to comply with the requirements. Would the Minister consider giving them some subvention to help them out?
Bord Fáilte have been prepared to make some contribution to the development of caravan sites in the same way as they have in the matter of hotels. They propose to do so in the future and that should be of some assistance.
How soon in the future? Will it be before the coming tourist season?
I cannot say.
Let them apply, anyway.
Question put and agreed to.
Sections 3 to 5, inclusive, agreed to.
SECTION 6.
Question proposed: "That section 6 stand part of the Bill."
This is the section which provides the money and the greatest care will have to be exercised. I asked the Minister a question today and I do not wish to labour it now. While there may not be very much to it, it is extremely desirable that State companies, Bord Fáilte and others, should come as little as possible under adverse public criticism. It is important they should carry on their affairs in such a manner as to command at all times the admiration and co-operation of the public.
Incidents that give rise to public criticism not of a constructive kind present a bad image in relation to the companies themselves and their dealings with the people. If it is true—I should like to ascertain from the Minister whether it is—that the Bord Fáilte offices in Regent Street, London, which were very good central offices, were the subject matter of a lease which fell in through carelessness of Bord Fáilte who, having had notice in ample time to apply for a renewal, failed to do so, then criticism is necessarily adverse and, of course, just. People with legal facilities and money available, with business training and standards, should not have this happen to them. From the point of view of tourism, certainly the offices should have been kept on in the same place as far as possible so that continuity would be preserved during the years.
Still on the question of offices, may I say that in this country large public concerns like oil companies should be utilised, if at all possible, in the tourist drive by getting them to supply tourist information. There are large oil companies with stations at either end of towns and it should be possible to provide them with brochures dealing with local matters within a 50 mile radius. There might be difficulty in regard to the ability of their personnel who supply petrol to give out such information, possibly from the point of view of youth and inexperience. I suggest it is a matter that could be explored with profit.
I should like to draw the Minister's attention to the necessity for providing an early sailing list by CIE to help hotel owners and others in the Aran Islands. The time of the year in which the list is issued is far too late for those people to make definite arrangements to cater adequately for visitors in the coming holiday season and it is unfair that they should be deprived of this list until the very last minute. Another question that arises here is the provision of toilet facilities in country areas. People may benefit from tourism but it is unfair to saddle the local authorities with the job of providing toilet facilities for tourists who pass through towns in buses. I submit that the tourist organisations should come to the aid of local authorities in this matter.
I should also like to ask the Minister when it is proposed to proceed with the schemes in Salthill and Galway city. They have been hanging fire for quite some time and are the subject of much local criticism. I admit that a great deal of work has been done and I should like to pay a tribute to the tourist people in that respect, but leaving things half done is a source of irritation, and I hope the Minister will press to have these matters completed.
I should like to associate myself with Deputy Coogan's remark that a good lot of work has been done. Anybody who travels throughout the country must appreciate that. I have one complaint to make, and in making it, I am airing the views of my constituents as well as my own. We feel that in all this advertising and publicity, County Mayo has not got its just share. whether that is well founded I do not know, but it is my opinion. I do not wish to be unfair to the tourist people who have a difficult job and many problems. Of course we are pretty far west and I suppose that people in order to shorten their journey sometimes, or for some other reason, may not visit towns like Ballina, Crossmolina, Belmullet or many other centres which are very beautiful and unspoilt.
I would appeal to the Minister to consider us in the matter of publicity. We need any help we can get from any source. Anything that will supplement the meagre incomes of many people in these areas is very badly needed. We have beautiful scenery, beautiful forests which are developing, thanks to the efforts of successive Ministers for Land, and beautiful mountains and lakes and, as Deputy Coogan has remarked, perhaps a drop of poteen. However, I think that industry has gone. I would appeal to the Minister to take this up with Bord Fáilte and I would couple our area with North Sligo, places like Easkey and Enniscrone. I suppose if people visit one place, they are almost certain to visit other places as well.
I should like to congratulate the Minister on this move and I hope that this extra money which we are providing for Bord Fáilte will speed up the development of our major resorts. Salthill has been chosen as one of the major resort development areas and in Salthill, we feel very pleased that this money will be available and we hope that the work will go ahead without further delay. One criticism of Bord Fáilte which I must make—it may not be a fair one but still I feel it should be made—is that when they are selecting architects and professional people to undertake large schemes, they should consider the professional talent which is available in the area, people who, I should imagine, are better fitted to know what is required. In Galway a scheme was drawn up by Bord Fáilte and there has been tremendous opposition to it from the people of the town. If there had been more liaison between the Board and the local people, this difficulty would never have arisen.
I should also like to point out that we have an historic statue, that of Pádraig Ó Conaire, which was the focal point in the park at Eyre Square but which was removed while development work was being undertaken. I understand that it will now be placed in a less prominent position than that which it enjoyed since the date it was unveiled. I would ask the Minister to use his influence to ensure that the statue is put back in Eyre Square where the people of Galway and tourists have enjoyed looking at it for many years, and not to have it tucked away on the far side of this scheme which was drawn up by an architect in Dublin. There are many other things in that scheme about which the Minister has been made aware by Galway Corporation and representatives of the area.
When Bord Fáilte are spending money on improvements, they should make themselves more aware of the opinions of the people in the particular locality and the opinions of those who are making their living from the tourist industry. In this regard, I want to refer to a toilet which was supposed to be renovated in Salthill. Work started on it at the beginning of this year but it has not been completed because the local people were not consulted and the job started before anybody knew what was happening. The Minister has always been very helpful to me on previous occasions and I do not wish to let this opportunity pass without airing my views on these matters.
There is also the matter of the very strange decision arrived at by CIE and Bord Fáilte who came together to erect an information kiosk for bus tourists beside a men's toilet on the opposite side of the road to any other facilities. Why people should be left out in the rain, or why women should be asked to wait for buses beside a men's toilet in an isolated area, is beyond me. There is also a move to erect telephone kiosks behind it. We in Salthill want to see it taken down altogether and I recommend to the Minister that he should have this done, if an alternative site can be obtained for it. It was a complete waste of money.
I should also like to draw attention to the great concern of people in my constituency over the delay in going ahead with plans for a new recreation centre which was promised to Galway over five years ago. This centre is to include a conference hall. We would welcome this move and the Minister can be assured of the co-operation of all interested bodies in Galway in helping to get this project under way. I wish to thank the Minister for the co-operation he has given to the tourist industry in my constituency in the past. I would ask him not to forget that in Galway we want a conference hall and I would also ask him to ensure that there is no further delay in providing it. We have seen tremendous developments in other tourist resorts and we wonder why we in the west are left behind. I would also ask him to get Bord Fáilte to move as rapidly as possible on the renovation of the ladies' bathing pool at Salthill. This structure has been a disgrace for many years. Due to the interest and co-operation of Bord Fáilte, plans have been drawn up by them and a substantial grant has been sanctioned for its renovation. If this work could be started and completed for the coming season in Salthill, it would be of tremendous benefit to the industry in Galway and the west generally.
I should like to refer to the visits which the regional tourist representatives are paying or have paid to local authorities. Some time ago we had a visit from the man who represents the north-eastern region and he referred to the seven golden miles which lie between the County Dublin border at Balbriggan and the Bovne at Drogheda. He asked members of my local authority if they had any questions about it and I asked him two questions. I asked him how much had Bord Fáilte spent on the seven golden miles and how much did they intend to spend, and the answer in both cases was nothing.
There is no need, if you have seven golden miles.
We have seven gold miles of strand and not one shilling has been spent on them. A couple of years ago, with the chairman of the county council and some of the members, I visited the Bord Fáilte offices and received a promise from some of the officials that money would be made available for a new park which was being planned for the village in which I live, Laytown, but the matter has been dragging on since. Last year Bord Fáilte arranged for a planner to visit the area and help to draw up a plan. An excellent plan was drawn up which so far has been put into operation by the county council. Bord Fáilte suggested that the telephone and electricity wires would have to go underground before they paid any grant. The amount of grant they offered was about £690 for a £15,000 job. The job was threequarters completed. As far as I know, the lines have not been put underground and no grant has been paid.
Would the Minister let me know— if he cannot do it now, then when it is convenient for him—whether or not the Board intend to pay any grant towards this park and, if they do, how much they propose to pay? I think in all fairness we should know this. There is no point in promising it if they do not intend to carry out their promise.
That area is open for development, and this is where I differ entirely from Deputy Molloy. In my opinion, a very bad mistake has been made in continuing to pour money into the larger resorts, while at the same time smaller resorts which could be developed are completely ignored. The coastline to which I am referring is beside the town of Drogheda with 21,000 people and is within striking distance of another 60,000 people. Yet we cannot get a shilling for its development unless it is put up by the county council. Bord Fáilte are falling down on their job in that regard.
Bord Fáilte did a very good job at Newgrange where they erected a museum, but I think it was stupid to set up an information centre there. That information centre is miles from everywhere and only visitors to Newgrange can make any use of it. As far as hotel booking facilities and giving information is concerned, it cannot be contacted except by visitors to Newgrange because there is no telephone there. It seems to me remarkable that an information centre should be set up at the back of god-speed without a telephone—and then we are told an information centre has been set up in the county. This is something that should be rectified. I think it was a mistake to set it up there, but, as it is there, a telephone should be available.
Would the Minister say if there are any proposals with Bord Fáilte to do anything about Tara? I believe Tara could be the greatest money spinner in the country if it were properly developed. This is something which should have the attention of Bord Fáilte. A few years ago great plans were drawn up to deal with it. There was to be a museum there. Certain lands were acquired and a local committee offered full co-operation and a good deal of money. Then it suddenly died down. It was revived two or three times since, the most recent occasion being when the present Minister for Health announced, when he was Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance, that Bord Fáilte were taking it over and making the farm there State land. This is all talk, talk, and not one darn thing is being done about it. I can see in the not far distant future Germans or Americans coming along, buying Tara, building some kind of plastic palace on it and collecting sixpences from the people going in. They will do it if nobody else does. I honestly believe this is something on which we could recover in a very short time any expenditure made.
"So sleeps the pride of former years."
It is still as true as when it was written.
May I suggest to Bord Fáilte the erection of a marble hall there? The finest marble in the world can be provided in Connemara.
There is a good deal of confusion in relation to where the responsibility for the development of seaside resorts and tourist amenities generally rests. It is a specialist job to decide the best, most attractive and most suitable development of any seaside resort or tourist amenity. As far as I know, the initiative is expected to come from the local authorities. I do not think the local authorities generally have the talent required or the people with the time set aside for that type of development.
I am afraid we are getting away from the section, which deals particularly with the amount of money being granted under this Bill. A wide debate on tourism does not arise on section 6. It is a question of money.
Is it not also a question of how this money is to be spent?
The Deputy is bringing the local authorities into this.
I think of necessity I must refer to the local authorities.
The Minister has no responsibility for the local authorities.
This is the sort of joint responsibility that arises and nobody knows where responsibility lies. That is the reference I want to make.
Deputy Tully referred to an area of coastline extending from Laytown almost to Portrane. No doubt about it, it is considerably more than seven miles of the most wonderful strand in Ireland. It has that natural amenity but it is also the bleakest area in the country because no attempt whatever has been made to develop the natural amenities there. It would be a good thing if Bord Fáilte got specialists to survey that area, the resources to be developed there and the amenities to be provided. A long-term programme of development there is long overdue.
As Deputy Tully said, we have people coming from outside the country with proposals. I know that proposals are before one local authority I am aware of for the development of considerable areas of this coastline. It is hard to refuse it when no Irish authority will undertake the responsibility of planning and protecting these amenities for the people. If it falls into the hands of foreign developers, there will be large areas of the country under their control and to which the natives will not have free access. That is a growing development. It should be taken notice of and something done to stop it in time.
Reference has been made to the wonderful strands on the other side of the country. We have some wonderful strands but they are not approachable by car. I should like the Minister, through Bord Fáilte, to examine the boreens leading to these wonderful strands and see what can be done to develop them.
First, Deputy Lindsay referred to the change in the address of Bord Fáilte. I think Deputy Lindsay may have been misinformed by somebody on that. I have ascertained, since he asked a supplementary at Question Time, that Bord Fáilte claim they did know the lease was expiring. These premises in Bond Street were deliberately purchased as a result of a Government decision and based on research that had been done by Córas Tráchtála in the first instance looking for a building which would be the nearest equivalent to an Ireland House in London where all these bodies could be housed together, with obvious benefits to our trade, tourism and commerce. The Bond Street premises were not secured because Bord Fáilte discovered too late that their lease was expiring; they knew that, and that it would be renewed on much more costly terms but, as I said, in the meantime the search for a good building centrally situated on a street of a well-known— indeed, famous—name was proceeding all the time. I do not think the question of the lease expiring enters into the controversy. When difficulties in regard to the alterations to the premises arose it was found necessary for Bord Fáilte to take the Carnaby Street offices for the intervening period because the other premises were not ready. That is the position.
I have been asked a number of miscellaneous questions and to some of them I have not got the answers because it would take some time to secure the information. This Bill enables Bord Fáilte to provide local tourist amenity grants at any place in the country where they think it advisable. They no longer have to give grants to areas which they classify as resort areas, as I indicated on the Second Reading, and the reason for this is the growth of motor traffic and the change in emphasis in regard to the location of areas needing development. The Bill will enable them to choose at will any area where, first, they regard resort development as desirable, or local tourist development in any form, and secondly, where they can get at least a contribution from a local authority or association. While that would apply to the eastern strands, I cannot say whether these could be fitted into the programme at the moment.
Deputy Clinton raised a very much bigger question, the whole question of how a strand can be developed. From what I have seen of his activities here I think the Deputy is pretty expert on local government and he should know that the National Institute for Physical Planning and the Department of Local Government have been giving courses and seminars to local authorities on the basis of planning and in particular they have virtually completed a survey of one county which will serve as an example of how to plan in other places and will give a lot of useful advice and suggestions to county managers. As Deputies know, local authorities must prepare a plan for their county within a limited period and I agree that they should engage as far as possible people with some knowledge of planning scenic amenities which is very different from planning a town. When they have achieved a plan and it has been approved, it is then possible to carry out such development as is available either as a result of private financing or with Bord Fáilte help. Local hotel and guesthouse accommodation, the planning of access roads and other amenities— again, these will be a combination of local authority and local association and Bord Fáilte finance. That is the general principle underlying both the Planning Act and Bord Fáilte operations as extended and amplified in this Bill.
The Deputies from Galway asked some questions about the Bord Fáilte plan for Salthill. I understand that is proceeding slowly——
"Slowly" is the word.
——but it is proceeding steadily and a very large amount of money has already been spent as Deputy Coogan and Deputy Molloy know and I hope the scheme will be completed in due time. I shall bear in mind the representations of Deputy Molloy regarding the placing of the information office which I think may now come under the regional tourist company and may be a matter for them and not Bord Fáilte.
Deputy Tully asked about Laytown. I am not aware of the position there which I shall investigate. I do not know whether in fact it was possible to give a grant in that area as I do not think Laytown has been classified as a resort development area under the old legislation. I think the Newgrange information centre will be under the care of the regional tourist company and it will be up to them, the directors and managers, to say whether the information centre in its present location is justifiable.
In regard to all these matters the regional tourist companies are doing extraordinarily effective work and I am very glad to hear Deputies of all Parties praise their activities. These tourist companies have been in operation for only about 18 months. They have had very small funds but they are already beginning to do splendid practical work. In 1966 the caretaker directors will be replaced by democratically elected directors from the membership of each tourist company. It is very important for Deputies to encourage everybody interested in tourism to join regional tourist companies, whether it is only a matter of selling more petrol to more people in summer because of the arrival of tourists or selling meat to hotels or running hotels or doing any business in which tourism is involved. They can all join regional tourist companies and can all subscribe and have whatever rights are due to them regarding the election of directors in 1966 when the caretaker committees cease.
In my view, regional tourist offices should be doing work formerly done by Bord Fáilte and in this regard a lot of the complaints mentioned by Deputy Molloy will be overcome. I am glad to say that very good regional tourist consciousness is growing up throughout the west and it is, of course, the west which will receive the principal benefits of regional tourist activity in the sense that very high costs are involved in local development there because of the remoteness of the area.
I shall have to refer the publication of the sailing list of the Naomh Eanna to CIE. It does not arise on this measure but I shall be only too glad to refer it to CIE on behalf of Deputy Coogan who seems to have made a reasonable suggestion. I understand there are difficulties in acquiring land at Tara but I agree that over the next four or five years something must be done to develop Tara as a national museum site for our own people to say nothing about tourists. As Deputy Tully knows, standards are pretty high in countries all over the world when it comes to the development of a museum in an area of that kind. Many tourists, for example, will probably expect to see, even if it is only a very small museum, some model or design of what the experts think Tara looked like. I understand it is sometimes very difficult to get agreement from the academicians on these matters——
That was planned about six years ago.
I know. There have been difficulties over the land but I can assure the Deputy that there will not be a plastic palace superimposed on Tara by a foreigner.
Deputy Clinton expressed concern lest some foreign interest should take over part of a strand in County Dublin in which he is interested and prevent access to the strand by the people. That is purely a matter of planning for the local authority. If they decide that some institution like Butlins or some other holiday camp established by Irish people or by foreigners to which Bord Fáilte give quite considerable grants could have some space on the beach or convenient to the beach solely for the sake of administrative convenience, there is no reason why they should not have it but if the local authority considers that the entire stretch of beach should be left open with no refusal of access, that is within their competence and the promoters of the holiday camp would have to decide whether or not to go ahead in the knowledge that there must be free access along the beach. It is a matter for the local authority to determine.
Did the Minister say that the grant for Laytown is not forthcoming?
I shall have to inquire about that. The thing that troubled me was that it was not a resort that could be covered under a resort amenity grant. It might be covered under a minor amenity grant but not under a grant for big resorts.
Can the Minister say if he has any way of controlling isolated cases of overcharging? They may not be too many but one is enough to smear a whole resort. There should be some way of dealing with these people.
That matter does not arise on this section of the Bill but I would say that financially it would be completely impossible for Bord Fáilte to extend its system of inspection to all the restaurants in the country and to have their maximum prices put up. There are other countries that have found that it was not worthwhile doing that. There are no restaurants registered in Spain, for instance, only hotels. While there have been a good number of complaints of excessive charges for meals and evenings teas, I do not think they relate to more than a minute percentage of the restaurants and cafes in the country.
It is liable to smear a whole resort.
All Bord Fáilte can do is publicise the complaints made.
Could you refuse registration in these cases?
In the case of hotels, all Bord Fáilte can do is compel people to publish the cost of accommodation and regular meals and see that they do not exceed these prices. They must include the cost of high teas in these listed prices. It is difficult to go further than that.
I am delighted to hear that the position with regard to the accommodation in Regent Street did not arise through any default of Bord Fáilte. The best way to scotch an adverse rumour is to have it aired fully.
Question put and agreed to.
Section 7 agreed to.
Title agreed to.
Bill reported without amendment.
Agreed to take remaining Stage today.
Bill received for final consideration and passed.