This is particularly important debate. It is a critical industry for our entire country. To start with, I want to praise the work of Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland in terms of what they do to promote tourism in this country, build infrastructure and, indeed, build relationships. Specifically, to the Minister of State's own brief, given that people are increasingly going to be using AI platforms to plan their holidays, we need to look at a strategy around how we can ensure Ireland is well-positioned to be able to avail of those opportunities. As the Minister of State knows, I am fortunate to represent the constituency of Wicklow-Wexford, which I would argue has some of the finest beaches in the country running from Brittas Bay through Arklow south beach to Clogga, Clone, Ballymoney, where I spent much of my own childhood and which has a beautiful beach, to Courtown harbour, which is in need of renourishment at the moment, to Cahore, Old Bawn, Morriscastle and many others in between. We need a strategy to ensure that we have sustainable beach tourism in Ireland. I was very struck by the University of Galway's report today about the impact of climate change on our coastal communities. We have to protect homes and infrastructure but it is also important that we protect our beaches. They are a critical part of the local tourism infrastructure. Now that Wexford County Council has a marine area consent licence for the potential development of breakwaters at Courtown harbour, restoring the beach that many of us remember from our childhoods there is critical. The Minister of State will be aware that next year, we are going to be celebrating Canada-Ireland 180, marking 180 years since 1847 when a lot of the connections developed between Ireland and Canada. As we know, Prime Minister Carney is coming here this week. Canada is now our fifth biggest market with over 200,000 people coming here each year but there is potential for a lot more. In the constituency I am proud to represent in south-west Wicklow, many travelled during the middle of the 1800s on assisted famine passage from that area. Over 6,000 men, women and children travelled from south-west Wicklow to Canada. That is, in fact, very much documented in the excellent book "Shoeboxes: From Irish Roots to Canadian Branches" by the late Kevin Lee and Tom Jenkins. Given the tens of thousands of people - there is a greater proportion of Canadians who claim Irish heritage than Americans - I believe it is a market that remains untapped. As colleagues mentioned, next year is also the year of the Normans. While I know there are many who are making claims to Norman heritage, it was from Ferns Castle that the original invitation was sent to invite the Normans to Ireland. Ferns is a wonderful example of a Norman castle. It is very well maintained. Even more importantly, there is a Norman festival that takes place there, which I was involved in recently. There is a wonderful local Ferns village committee. It is critical, not alone in terms of us fostering our relationships with our nearest EU neighbour, France, particularly with all the ferries coming into Rosslare, for people to be able to explore those Norman links right around the south east. That potential is something we do need to do more about and to exploit and explore. I also want to commend those who are involved in the development of the south Wicklow greenway project. We are aware of the success of greenways right around the country. The south Wicklow one has perhaps been taking a bit longer to get off the ground than many would have liked. I know that the chair, Anthony Murphy, former Councillor John Mullen and, indeed, many people in the local community who are very actively involved in this want to see it up and running. Developing those links from Arklow out to Shillelagh, even if it is done on a phased basis, is important for people to be able to visit all those wonderful villages right across south Wicklow as well as for the tourism potential we could see for Arklow town. We look at Dungarvan as an example and at how the Waterford greenway has been transformational. Something similar could happen with Arklow. I am a bit frustrated about the slow pace of movement on the greenway. In fairness, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, made money available to Wicklow County Council to progress it. I want to see this as a priority because of the tourism potential for all those villages from Aughrim and Avoca to Tinahely and Shillelagh and on to Carnew, and particularly with those Canadian connections. The potential of all that is huge and we need to explore it. Sometimes we do not sell our island sufficiently. There is often too much of a focus, dare I say, on Dublin. It is critical, and I have outlined some of the points with regard to the potential of our links with Normandy and Canada. We need to talk about an all-island strategy. That is something I hope the Minister of State will take on board.

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