News

Connemara rhododendron cull

The Minister of State for Heritage Malcom Noonan, has announced a funding allocation of €500,000 to clear the invasive rhododendron species from Connemara National Park. rhododendron0421

The funding will be spent over the next two years to help eradicate rhododendron across 300 hectares of heath and blanket bog within the National Park, and will create employment opportunities.

“Removing invasive species is challenging and labour-intensive work, but it’s critically important for the health of our ecosystems,” the Minister of State said.

.The aim is for the works to commence by the fourth quarter of the year.

John Sweeney, President of Connemara Chamber of Commerce and Karen Mannion, CEO of FORUM Connemara (who are working with the National Parks as neighbours on a range of agri-environmental initiatives) both welcomed the news, saying:

Global reach for 46th 'Meitheal'

More than 480 Irish tourism businesses from across the country will meet virtually to sell the best of Ireland to 216 top international tourism buyers from Australia to the USA and meitheal

every corner of the globe. Each of the buyers represent tens of thousands of possible customers and the opportunity to influence their travel itineraries for 2022 is invaluable.

Now in its 46th year, Meitheal is Fáilte Ireland’s flagship trade event and most important event for the Irish tourism industry, which is organised in conjunction with Tourism Ireland. For the second year running Meitheal will be a virtual event held over three days from 13-15th April to enable businesses in the Irish tourism industry to pitch to hugely influential international buyers from 19 countries.

They’ll be showcasing the best of what they offer with the prize aim of being scheduled on the itineraries of the global tour operators. More than 8,650 appointments or ‘pitch meetings’ are available and deals worth millions of euro to the Irish economy could be signed over the three days.

Cross Border Tourism Supports

Two local authorities in the north west have joined forces to offer a new tourism programme to help with the recovery of the industry in the Donegal, Derry and Strabane areas. donegal

Donegal County Council and Derry City and Strabane District Council are offering the free programme to 30 businesses in the region to explore the potential of developing new collaborative products.

The supports will include one-to-one and group mentoring, business development workshops and a grant in the region of €2,500 to be used on items or services that will help the businesses to reopen, develop new products or take advantage of new opportunities in the market.

The cross-border initiative will run from May to July and will also include an opportunity to be included in a national marketing campaign promoting "staycations" in the region.

142 objections to Goat plan

An Bord Pleanala has received 148 third party objections to a planned €186m 299 unit apartment block scheme for a site beside his Goat Grill pub in Goatstown, south Dublin. goat0520

In the plan, Mr Chawke's Charjon Investments is seeking permission for the 'fast track' scheme that also includes a 22-bedroom hotel, six retail outlets, child-care facilities along with the renovation and extension of the Goat Grill.

The development on a 4.6 acre site is made up of four apartment blocks ranging from five to eight storeys in height.

One of those to make a submission is Tourism Minister and local Green TD Catherine Martin who told the appeals board she has “concerns in relation to this development”.

200,000 arrivals in Q1

The number of passengers who have arrived into Ireland so far this year has reached almost 200,000, latest figures show. dublinairport0620

The figures released by the Department of Transport show that that have been over 188,000 arrivals through Dublin Airport since the beginning of the year, with a further 4,000 through Cork and another 1,000 through Shannon Airport.

France, Italy, Turkey, Canada and the US were among 16 countries that were added by the Government to the hotel quarantine list on Friday, as the latest travel figures revealed that almost 3,300 people arrived into the country on flights from these newly added countries in the week up to April 4.

To date, approximately 500 people have been asked to quarantine in Irish hotels on arrival since the system was put in place.