It is estimated that some 70 million people have ties to Ireland. Despite this, it is remarkable that we have no one focal point where entertainment, technology and culture combine in celebration and commemoration of the achievements and experiences of the Irish diaspora. The Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company has been working hard over the past few years to fill this void. It wants to create a world-class
Irish-International Diaspora Centre along the lines of that at Ellis Island in New York. Yet, bringing the proposed project to fruition requires significant funding.A recent Fáilte Ireland study, commissioned by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, concluded that such a centre has the potential to be a major tourism attraction. The study envisages that the capital cost of such a centre could range from €5 million to €26 million depending on the location, scale and specification. While the government agrees with this, it says it is not in a position to support it given that 'the State's finances remain extremely constrained'.
That might be so.
However in January 2014, the government announced support of more than €12.5 billion for the agriculture sector including €1.9 billion in national funding for expenditure on rural development. Clearly the envelope for agriculture is huge and the gap between what it gets, and what the tourism sector receives is really staggering.
Meanwhile, Irish tourism interests continue to express 'happiness' given the recent growth in visitor numbers, and the retention of 9% VAT rate. This is understandable. But, as a leading agricultural figure told me recently, 'happiness is not a policy'.
Perhaps tourism interests should now consider how the recently announced Ireland Strategic Investment Fund could be harnessed to deliver this project.
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