I welcome the announcement by Fáilte Ireland that Cavan Town and Monaghan Town have been selected as Destination Towns and will receive substantial funding towards improving and enhancing their tourism appeal.

Fáilte Ireland announced that they will allocate in two rounds up to €500,000 per each Local Authority.  They also stated that the process of identifying the towns was led by the Local Authorities in consultation with Fáilte Ireland.

Over the past 25 years there has been a great investment by both the public and private sector in enhancing the tourism product in both Cavan and Monaghan.  The additional tourism attractions and infrastructure has brought increased visitor numbers to both counties. Tourism is now a significant contributor to employment locally. There is always a need to invest in existing tourism products and also develop additional facilities.

Brexit poses particular challenges for this region including our existing tourist business and this sector along with others needs to be supported by government through challenging times.