THE Pilot Tax Relief Scheme for Certain Resort Areas, as it is officially was introduced in 1995 with the declared aim of rejuvenating traditional seaside resorts which had become somewhat rundown over the years, to "meet the demands of the modern holidaymaker".
Enda Kenny, the Minister for Tourism, said he was "confident" that the scheme, by levering private sector investment, would "contribute significantly" to the regeneration of these resorts, enabling them to "play their part" in meeting Government targets for tourism.
Bord Failte says there have been 296 project applications for the scheme - mostly in the accommodation area. Hotels and guest houses account for 10 per cent each, B&Bs (30 per cent), individual self catering (14 per cent) and holiday home schemes (14 per cent).
Only one per cent of applications are for hostels and two per cent for caravan and camping, with the remaining 19 per cent spread over other "products" such as restaurants, crafts, leisure, sport and entertainment centres, marinas, theme parks and licensed premises.
According to Bord Failte, it is "not surprising" that the bulk of applications are in the accommodation area, since that would provide the base for holding tourists in the resorts. It also estimates that only 15 per cent of all the projects have already been completed.
The board has no figures for the total investment involved and cannot yet say how this breaks down between the various resorts. These figures are being compiled in the context of an overall evaluation of the three year scheme, which is currently under way.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Tourism and Trade said the aim of this review was to "determine how effective it is and to see what changes may be necessary" if it is to be extended beyond July 1998. Value for money, in terms of the tax incentives, is one of the key factors.
"We are also anxious to ensure that the scheme is not impacting adversely on the overall tourism potential of an area" she added, in an veiled reference to complaints from certain quarters that it may, indeed, be having unintended consequences which may be damaging.
Achill is one of those areas where such concerns are being expressed. So is Kilkee in Co Clare, which has seen such an explosion in tourist accommodation that holiday homes built with the aid of tax incentives now out number the permanent residences in the town.
Earlier this year, visitors were surprised to see a tower crane in Lahinch, Co Clare - the first in its history; it was brought in to build a large apartment scheme in the resort. Holiday homes on prominent sites overlooking the sea have also caused controversy locally.
In Bundoran, Co Donegal, the Urban District Council had no hesitation in selling off part of the last remaining green space in the town for another tax designated tourism development. For some local people, this amounted to a betrayal of the council's public duty.
In West Cork, the local branch of An Taisce was forced to withdraw an appeal against a major hotel, holiday home and leisure development at Inchydoney Island, near Clonalkilty, which encroached on a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) designated under EU legislation. The argument used by business people and others who supported this scheme was that the likely four months it would take for An Bord Pleanala to determine the appeal could result in the developers failing to meet next July's deadline for the seaside resort tax breaks.
Mr Tony Lowes, of An Taisce, came under enormous pressure to drop the appeal. He reluctantly did so after the developers agreed to relocate car parking and tennis courts from the SAC - though he failed to get an assurance that public access to the beach would be maintained.
Yet Mr Lowes insists that the case he made to An Bord Pleanala was entirely in line with the Strategy for Sustainable Development, published earlier this year - in particular, the chapter on tourism which includes an action programme geared towards "sustainable tourism".
The document defines this relatively new concept as "a positive approach to harmonising the interactions between tourism, the physical environment and host communities". Overall, it says, the carrying capacity of the environment "must be respected" in tourism planning.
It also recognises that tourism is putting pressure on a number of sensitive landscapes and says the local authorities "will make provision in their development plans for sustainable tourism and ensure through the planning process that overdevelopment does not take place".
Although the strategy refers to the tax relief scheme for 15 designated seaside resorts, there is no acknowledgement of the danger that it is actually encouraging the very type of overdevelopment it seeks to avoid in the interests of "sustainable tourism".
