This article is from page 20 of the 2011-08-30 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 20 JPG
THE establishment of a Certificate of Irishness could bring five million tourists to the mid-west region over a ten-year period.
That’s according to Clare County Councillor James Breen, who is strongly in favour of the establish- ment of the scheme, as proposed by Quin resident Gerry O’Neill.
Cllr Breen has endorsed the campaign established by Mr O’Neill and raised the issue at a meeting of Clare County Council last year.
“There are over 80 million people of Irish decent living in the US. I think this can turn Shannon Airport into what it was like in the Brendan O’Regan era,” he said.
He said that if the scheme is put on a firm footing by the government, the mid-west should be given priority, given that it is the brainchild of a man living in County Clare.
“It should be in the mid-west. We should get chartered flights into Shannon again. We want something in the west to make Shannon viable.”
“The idea was hatched in the midwest. There should be a central point in Shannon and people can travel around Ireland from there,” he told The Clare People . “I personally believe that it would bring over five million tourists into Shannon over 10 years. It will lead to strong links being forged,” he said.
He said that the introduction of such a scheme would bring pride to those of Irish ancestry. “Irish people are so proud of their heritage. The economy can be boosted. We can make Shannon Airport viable and into profit.”