Mary O'Rourke
Ceist:5 Mrs. O'Rourke asked the Taoiseach the special co-operation initiatives, if any, that were undertaken by his Department in 1995; and the initiatives, if any, that are proposed for 1996. [5563/96]
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Special Co-operation Initiatives.
My Department has undertaken one initiative under subhead D2 — special co-operation initiatives — in 1995. This initiative is the Irish Genealogical Project which is an all-Ireland, tourism project arising from the work of the Task Force on Roots, Genealogy and Tourism.
The Irish Genealogical Project has brought together all those, North and South of the island of Ireland, involved in genealogy and provides the means by which those concerned can contribute to developing genealogy in its own right but also in its capacity as a tourism attraction.
The primary focus of the project is the generation of visitor traffic to Ireland which has been motivated by the appeal in tracing roots, and as a consequence of this, the creation of jobs and employment opportunities in the tourism and travel sectors. The project is designed to improve dramatically genealogical research facilities to the point where they can be marketed to tourists of Irish descent all over the world.
This is to be achieved through the creation of a family history research service, based on locally created and controlled databases. There are some 35 genealogical centres now spread throughout the Thirty-two Counties where computerisation of records from parish records and other sources is almost complete.
The project has both national and local economic benefits, through the development of community based initiatives and training and skills development. The employment potential, both direct and indirect, of the project, when successfully developed and marketed, will be considerable.
In addition to the economic benefits the project has proven that it can foster several worthwhile social benefits, including all-Ireland cross-community relations, local community awareness and pride in local heritage.
I find all of that admirable and thank the Minister of State for his answer.
Does the House wish to dispose of the remaining question, No. 6?
I would like to leave it until tomorrow.
We will proceed then to questions nominated for priority.