Rural recreation opportunity

Huge opportunities for west in rural recreation – Ó Cuív

Anton McNulty

THE SLOWDOWN in the international economy has provided rural Ireland with an ‘incredible opportunity’ to create a rural recreation product in the west region, according to Minister Éamon Ó Cuív.
The Minister for Rural, Community and Gaeltacht Affairs issued a statement last week outlining his belief that rural Ireland can develop its natural resources into a high-quality, integrated product to attract visitors from Europe to the west of Ireland. Minister Ó Cuív cited the increasing cost of long-distance travel as a reason why more Europeans are likely to travel within Europe and he said there were opportunities for the west of Ireland to benefit from this market.
“As the cost of long-distance travel will become more expensive, I believe that more and more people, both in Europe, Britain and in Ireland, will turn to holidays within Europe.  Also, with the urbanisation of our society, rural recreation has become a growing business.  We, therefore, have an unprecedented chance now with the new Rural Development Funds of half a billion euro between State and European funds, as well as matching private sector funds, bringing the total spend to up to a €1 billion over the next five years, to create a rural recreation product in the west of Ireland, second to none.
“In recent years, much work has commenced in relation to the exploitation of these resources in a sustainable way with the development of walking trails, accommodation etc. However, for the work done, there is ten times more to do, particularly in the development of a high-quality, integrated product that not only provides physical resources for all of the activities that can be carried out on land, sea and lake, but also provides the back-up supports of a variety of types of accommodation, restaurants, transport services etc,” he said.
Minister Ó Cuív said the abandoned and disused railway lines, such as the Westport to Achill line, would be ideal for developing loop walks and cycle lanes, and called on the local authorities to preserve the remaining alignment of abandoned railway lines for future development. He urged local communities to get involved in exploring the possibility of opening these railway lines and said that funding would be available through the Rural Development Fund from next October, as well as through the Rural Social Scheme.
The Minister’s comments were welcomed by Brian Quinn of Fáilte Ireland West who told The Mayo News that they were investing extensively in adventure tourism. He explained that Fáilte Ireland, along with local authorities, were investing millions of euro in developing dedicated walking and cycle routes.
“Fáilte Ireland are investing huge amounts of funding in the area of adventure tourism and we would be hugely supportive of what Minister Ó Cuív has said. We are developing dedicated cycle routes in the west with the hub areas being Clifden, Westport and Achill. Adventure tourism is part of our strategy in developing tourism in the west of Ireland and we want to make it the number one outdoor adventure destination in Ireland,” he said.