asked the Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism if he considers it equitable that supplementary holiday accommodation grants are payable only to guesthouses and holiday homes that are three miles outside an urban area when similar urban accommodation can be equally deprived and have equal justification for grant aid.
Written Answers. - Holiday Accommodation Grants.
47.
The supplementary holiday accommodation grant scheme administered by Board Fáilte does not apply to guesthouses. The scheme which was introduced in its present form in 1979 applies only to farmhouses, town and country homes and single self-catering units. Premises located within three miles of the centre of towns having a population of 3,000 or more are at present ineligible for assistance. This particular condition was designed to encourage tourism development in rural areas and was in line with a policy of generally weighting grant assistance in favour of rural and less developed areas of the country.
The operation of the scheme is reviewed from time to time and is due to be reassessed next year. This particular grant condition will be re-examined as part of that exercise.