Debate contribution: North-South Ministerial Council: Tourism
Debate contribution by Dr Caoimhe Archibald on .
- MLA
- Dr Caoimhe Archibald
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 6 May 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Ministerial Statements
- Heading
- North-South Ministerial Council: Tourism
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4929300
Read the official Assembly record
Text
With your permission, Mr Speaker, I wish to make a statement in compliance with section 52 of the 1998 Act regarding a meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) in tourism sectoral format. The meeting was held in Armagh on 16 April. I represented the Northern Ireland Executive and was accompanied by Minister Gordon Lyons MLA. The Irish Government were represented by Minister Peter Burke TD, the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, who chaired the meeting. The statement has been agreed with Minister Lyons, and I make it on behalf of us both. The Council welcomed the report of the chair of Tourism Ireland on the work of the board since the last NSMC tourism meeting in June 2024. Ministers noted Tourism Ireland's activity during that period, including the large number of marketing campaigns and events undertaken, ensuring seasonal spread of visits through the marketing of the island as the home of Halloween and the promotion of screen and sports tourism. The NSMC welcomed Tourism Ireland's continued focus on embedding sustainability in its marketing activities. Ministers welcomed a presentation by Alice Mansergh, chief executive of Tourism Ireland, on its marketing plans for 2025, highlighting the extensive marketing activity for the year, and noted that sustainable development is at the core of Tourism Ireland's plans for 2025. The Council noted developments in tourism cooperation on sustainable tourism and the newly established joint strategic coordination group. The NSMC noted the ongoing work to address climate change and the loss of biodiversity in the tourism sector. Ministers noted the ongoing collaboration between the relevant tourism agencies on the Shared Island-funded Wild Atlantic Way and Causeway Coastal Route tourism brand collaboration project and the future Shared Island projects under the Shared Destinations programme 2025-2030, including three projects across the border region — Carlingford Lough, UNESCO Cuilcagh Lakelands Geopark and Sliabh Beagh — and a Tourism Ireland international marketing and development programme to maximise the economic impact for each area. The NSMC approved Tourism Ireland's revised business plan for 2024 and its business plan for 2025 and recommended the budget/grant provisions, which have been agreed by both sponsor Departments and Finance Ministers. The Council noted Tourism Ireland's annual report and accounts for 2023, which have been approved by the Comptrollers and Auditors General (C&AGs) and laid before the Assembly and both Houses of the Oireachtas. Ministers granted consent to Tourism Ireland to pass a resolution to amend the memorandum and articles of association following a review to update those documents. The NSMC noted that terms of reference for an organisational capacity review of Tourism Ireland have been approved, with the review to commence in the second quarter of 2025. Ministers agreed that the implementation of any recommendation from the review will be submitted to the NSMC for approval.
The Council agreed to hold its next NSMC tourism meeting in November 2025. I commend the statement to the Assembly.
484 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.21 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.91 |
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.06 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.03 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:23 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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