2026-06-16

147. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to provide an update on the national tourism food strategy, in regard to timelines and funding which will enhance the tourism sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45619/26]

Will the Minister provide an update on the national tourism strategy, particularly with regard to the timelines and funding that will be required to enhance our food tourism sector?

I thank the Deputy for a very important question relating to tourism, which is our largest indigenous sector. The programme for Government includes a clear commitment to support and expand food and drink tourism, reflecting its importance in shaping visitor experiences. Food and beverage accounts for approximately 34% of all visitor expenditure. A New Era for Irish Tourism, the Government's national tourism policy, focuses on sustainable development of our tourism sector and increasing the regional and seasonal spread of tourism activity. It includes a commitment to develop a new national culinary strategy to strengthen the quality and reputation of Ireland's food offering. This strategy will build on and complement destination experience development plans that place a strong emphasis on food at a local level. It will support the strengthening and promotion of authentic, sustainable experiences alongside the development of food trails and festivals that drive demand and help sustain over 46,000 tourism-related businesses. These objectives also clearly align with wider Government measures to support competitiveness, which include the reduction in VAT to 9% for food and catering services from next month. Delivering on these commitments requires strong co-ordination and a clear focus on outcomes. In this context, I established a tourism policy oversight group, which will meet for the first time on 8 July. This group will bring together representation across government, agencies, local authorities and industry stakeholders to oversee, monitor and support the delivery of the 71 policy objectives. This group will be supported by targeted delivery streams, including a dedicated culinary stream, to ensure alignment across national and local government. All the key sectors will provide strategic oversight of the strategy's development and delivery. Tourism Ireland is implementing a refreshed culinary tourism approach overseas, addressing outdated perceptions of Irish food and showcasing the quality, freshness and diversity of food and drink across the island as a key driver of destination choice, particularly among European visitors.

It is great that 34% of tourism funding is directed towards food and drink, but that also highlights the scope we have to develop it even further. As a result, I welcome this strategy. However, a strategy is only as good as its implementation. As the Minister saw last Monday when he came to launch the Louth tourism strategy, we in County Louth have so much to offer. People can have oysters in Carlingford. They can go to The Glyde Inn in Annagassan and have all the fish delicacies we have to offer in County Louth. The best fish and chips are up in Clogherhead, while the best steak is over at the Monasterboice Inn, formerly known as Donegan's. We have all of that. We need to build the food strategy, along with the culture and heritage of the county, as do many towns and villages across the country at a regional level. How will the Minister develop that in practical terms?

Critically, as the Deputy pointed out, the Louth strategy for tourism up to 2031 has key performance indicators, KPIs, to measure exactly the performance and ensure our objectives are realised. I took the view in our tourism plan that if it cannot be measured, it cannot be managed. That is why we have 71 objectives with clear KPIs attached to each. That is why Tourism Ireland has approximately €71 million for 2026 for marketing, and the culinary industry is key to that. We will develop our culinary strategy over this year. It will have a job of work in advancing the proposition that so many of our businesses have. As the Deputy rightly pointed out, there is a vineyard in Louth. There are oysters. There is an incredible offering from the distillery. There are so many attractions to bring people to County Louth. It will be front and centre and will absorb huge resources. We will put in €400 million over the next five years. The culinary industry is unique, genuine and authentic food production that will put us in a good space to attract visitors.

The Minister is exactly right. We have food and drink of the highest quality produced at a local level by great producers in County Louth. The core element to producing this food and drink is our farmers. Our farmers are struggling at the moment, particularly those in the tillage sector. I call on the Minister to co-ordinate and co-operate with the Minister for agriculture to ensure that from beginning to end, the chain is able to sustain a long-term food tourism strategy in County Louth and across the country. Without a good, strong agricultural sector, we will not be in a position to continue to produce the high-quality food and drink that we can offer tourists in Ireland. They then go home to America, France, Italy, Japan or South Africa and talk about the wonders of Irish food and drink. As a result, we have a strong export sector.

I could not agree more with the Deputy and the proposals she is bringing forward. I look forward to working with her to grow our tourism sector. I particularly look forward to working with our businesses. There are 46,000 businesses across the country that provide a genuine, authentic céad míle fáilte. We will come forward in September or October with a number of supports, capital grants, for attractions and businesses to help them with digitalisation to ensure they can grasp the opportunity that is ahead. Many of our visitors now use generative AI to plan out their itineraries, book and research online. I am working closely with the Minister for agriculture, Deputy Heydon, to ensure that farmers are supported. Right now, for every 200 litre fill of diesel, farmers get €55 to support them in the production of food. That is reducing the price of groceries on tables and reducing the cost of production, critically, for businesses. In budget 2027, we will provide further supports. We had the national economic dialogue, which included a breakout session on agriculture, as well as one on tourism, to discuss the challenges for all the sectoral interests.