Debate contribution: All-Ireland Tourism

Debate contribution by Mr Matthew O'Toole on 18 June 2024.

MLA

Mr Matthew O'Toole

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

18 June 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

All-Ireland Tourism

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4497335

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I am pleased to speak in the final SDLP Opposition day motion of the term. Soon, in a week or two, we will be in recess. The purpose of the motion is to highlight and underpin what we share on this island and the potential to share more in a way that maximises tourism potential, but I will underscore what was said by the two Members from South Down — my party colleague, Colin McGrath and, before him, Andrew McMurray of the Alliance Party — which was that sustainability and sustaining those landscapes is as important as maximising the benefit from them. It is critical that we deliver on the overdue promise of linking up the Wild Atlantic Way to the ancient city of Derry, the glorious north coast and all the history that goes along with it and, indeed, linking Ireland's Ancient East with the rest of the east of the island. It is, frankly, absurd that Ireland's Ancient East does not include the site of St Patrick's burial or all the monastic and neolithic sites that populate that part of the island. The amendment to include gorgeous places such as Fermanagh in Ireland's Hidden Heartlands is, of course, well intended, and we will support it. I will touch on a couple of comments that were made by colleagues. There is much to agree with in the DUP amendment. Although we are not wholly supportive of all of it, I acknowledge that specific progress has been made in ameliorating the ETA. It is, however, important to send out a message from the Assembly that we reject it outright. It can be ameliorated, but it is a fundamental risk to the whole island. Having a few days of grace, as it were, is not as good as having the thing gone entirely, so I encourage the Executive to come to a position to oppose it and, ideally, to persuade or at least lobby the incoming UK Government to get rid of it. I notice one slight anomaly in the DUP amendment, which states that Northern Ireland's distinctive tourism brand is "Embrace a Giant". I think that it is missing a word; I think that it is supposed to be "Embrace a Giant Spirit". I know that the party leader, Gavin Robinson, is a big gentleman, but I am not sure that we should encourage every tourist who arrives in this part of Ireland to embrace him literally. Certainly, I am sure that voters in East Belfast will be encouraged to do so for the next wee while — but I digress. It is not impossible to extend brands such as the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland's Ancient East while celebrating and amplifying what is specific and local, and, yes, that will include what is specific and local to Northern Ireland. That does not, in any way, compromise locally distinctive identities and brands. In Question Time earlier, the Communities Minister talked about Ulster Scots and the contribution of the Scots Irish and Ulster Scots to North America and the creation of the United States. That will be a distinctive part of the tourism offer in this part of the world that people will not get in the same way in Cork or Dublin. Of course, we have to have a distinctive regional brand. There will be different parts of history to celebrate. Someone who is spending part of the day in Downpatrick, looking at St Patrick's grave and the ancient neolithic history in that part of the world, could, that afternoon, drive up to Mr Honeyford's constituency and visit Hillsborough Castle, which is about an entirely different period in our history, both the Anglo-Irish and, indeed, the modern-day links with the royal family. That is plurality. The richness of this part of the world — this part of the island and other parts of the island — is something that we should celebrate. It is nothing to be afraid of, and that is what our motion is all about. Indeed, the city of Belfast is, in many ways, an example of that. It is the second city of the island but also a city where an enlightenment happened in the 18th century. It had radical Presbyterians who set a new course for the whole island. That history is fascinating and entirely, as it were, cross-community and cross-border. We should work to maximise the benefit of the richness of all those brands and identities.

I am really pleased that we had what was, I hope, a fruitful debate. There is a clear view that we can benefit from extending those brands on a cross-border basis and that we can have a plural offer to tourists who come here. In my closing remarks, I will, however, underline the point that we waste £2·5 million a year subsidising long-haul flights out of Belfast that have not been here for more than half a decade and are unlikely to be here in the near future. Most people who come to the North come via Dublin Airport. That will continue to be the case into the future. Let us give them a bright, shining, diverse and fascinating tourism offer on this island and in this part of the island, but let us not kid ourselves that we will replace Dublin Airport as a major international air hub any time soon, because we are not.

898 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:38 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

Disagree with this assessment?

Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.

Challenge this classification