Anne Rabbitte, the Fianna Fáil TD for Galway East, is calling on the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, to guarantee the progression of 'Ireland's Lakelands' programme after concerns over a lack of action and interest in it.
One of the goals for 'A Programme for a Partnership Government”, which was released last May, was to have Fáilte Ireland develop the 'Ireland's Lakelands' brand as a separate proposition to sit alongside The Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland's Ancient East, however Deputy Rabbitte says it needs to get the necessary backing and support from the government.
It was hoped that the programme would provide a much needed boost to the east Galway region by increasing tourism numbers along the River Shannon and its surrounding areas according to FiannaFail.ie.
“The Ireland's Lakelands plan has the potential to live up to the success of The Wild Atlantic Way. Tourism has always been an important economic driver in the west of Ireland, but we need to see it expanded to other areas. I will be writing to Minister Shane Ross to establish what progress has been made on the project over the past three months, and to emphasise the importance of this initiative to all towns and villages which are set to benefit from the plan. We cannot afford to let Ireland's Lakelands languish and become another broken promise,” said Deputy Rabbitte.
