Vol. 476 No. 7
352 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade if there are elements of positive discrimination exercised by his Department towards particular areas in view of the fact that areas of rural Ireland contribute substantially to our current Objective One status; the form that any such positive discrimination takes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8040/97]
While my Department is the national authority designated with overall responsibility for the management of the Operational Programme for Tourism 1994-99, grants are approved by independent management boards established under the programme. Consequently, my Department has no grant approving role.
Generally, under the programme, the consideration of regional spread is one of the criteria exercised by these boards in arriving at their decisions on grant applications. However, only one measure under the programme, i.e. the select hotel accommodation improvement scheme, for existing small and medium sized hotels with a capacity of up to 100 bedrooms graded up to 3 star level, has a specific restriction based on geographical location. The purpose of the restriction is to ensure that hotels outside the main metropolitan areas, where demand for hotel beds tends to be higher and less seasonal, are the primary beneficiaries.
