Wild Atlantic Way brochure an insult, says councillor
Deputy county mayor Councillor Joe Carroll (FF) said he feels “insulted” by the fact that the names, addresses, and contact numbers for tourist offices in Bantry and Skibbereen are missing from the new publication.
He said both tourist offices are manned by volunteers who are doing the work Fáilte Ireland should be doing and to leave them out of the list is not just insulting but very damaging to the West Cork region.
“I want this council to protest to them [Fáilte Ireland]. This is an insult. Then there’s the name of Skibbereen, it’s hardly legible on the map,” he said.
“They [Fáilte Ireland officials] should go down to these tourist offices and apologise to the volunteers running them.”
Bantry-based Councillor Mary Hegarty (FG) was also annoyed by the omissions.
She said a couple of years ago there was a real threat Bantry’s tourist office would close.
“But it was kept open by local volunteers. They open it seven days a week from 9am to 6pm. They had a 14% increase in Irish tourists visiting it last year and there’s been a huge increase in tourists from continental Europe,” she said.
She was also critical of the large number of roads signs in West Cork which point to Killarney. “I’m really appalled by this and it’s totally unacceptable. It’s horrendous that there are signs in Cork City sending tourists to Killarney.”
Councillor Christopher O’Sullivan (FF) is based in Clonakilty and its tourist office is listed on the brochure.
While he is delighted with the inclusion he also joined in with the criticism levelled against Fáilte Ireland.
He said the existence of the tourist offices in Bantry and Skibbereen is vital to help people visiting the west Cork peninsulas find accommodation. “Bantry and Skibbereen are being hard done by in the brochure,” he said.
Kinsale-based Councillor Kevin Murphy (FG) said: “This [the omissions] just blows my mind and it’s absolutely unacceptable,”
Councillor Paul Hayes described it as “a dreadful oversight” which needs to be addressed.
Councillor Danny Collins (Ind), a member of Bantry Development, said his organisation helped to keep that town’s tourist office open. “Bantry has 30 voluntary staff working in the tourist office. This brochure has to be redone.”
After some debate, it was agreed council officials would send a letter to Fáilte Ireland bosses outlining the concerns raised by a number of councillors and asking for new brochures to be printed to address the matter.
