Sinn Féin spokesperson on Gaeilge, Gaeltacht, Arts, Culture, Tourism and Media, Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD, has slammed the Government for the quiet publication of a vague tourism framework in the dying days of office, after failing the sector consistently for four and a half years.

The Dublin South Central TD said:

“To the surprise and dismay of Ireland’s tourism industry, a new national framework for the sector was launched yesterday on the quiet. No event, no bells or whistles, just a quiet press release.

“Yet again, we have a so-called plan from Minister Catherine Martin which is light on detail and promises action plans at some undefined time in the future which should set out the actual actions the Government will take.

“Given Taoiseach Simon Harris’ announcement yesterday that the same Government will be dissolved tomorrow, little hope is left for struggling businesses that such an action plan will see the light of day, let alone be implemented, any time soon.

“While there is merit to the environmental, economic, and social objectives in the framework, they are merely objectives, in many cases reiterating existing policy, and the focus is on what businesses can do to address societal challenges while glossing over the challenges faced by the businesses themselves and how we can support them.

“This comes after businesses, employers, and workers from across the tourism and hospitality sector felt forced to take to the streets in recent weeks to highlight the plight of those struggling to stay in operation with rising costs and to demand an adequate response from Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Greens who have let them down.

“The tourism industry deserved a comprehensive policy to support the sector, with a Minister standing alongside our state bodies for tourism and those in the sector, showcasing what our nation has to offer, and setting out an ambitious vision to encourage internal and inward tourism.

“Instead, they got a press release issued late in the day, on a day when Irish media is focused on events across the Atlantic. This could be construed as an obvious political decision by Minister Martin to get a lacklustre policy launched and buried without scrutiny.

“Under the Fine Gael-Fianna Fáil-Green coalition, we have had failures across Government to take account of the needs of our tourism sector, whether it’s the overreliance on tourist beds for emergency accommodation and international protection, or the failure to develop regional airports and total lack of a coherent aviation strategy that led to the debacle of the cap on numbers at Dublin Airport having to go all the way to the High Court.

“Sinn Féin in Government would move away from the failed approach of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Greens. As this election campaign gets underway, we hope to demonstrate clearly to our tourism industry that we have listened, and we will deliver.”