Better campervan facilities would boost tourism - Fitzpatrick

Councillors are seeking to improve services and facilities for campervans across the county to boost tourism.

The motion was raised by Fianna Fáil Councillor Aiden Fitzpatrick at the July meeting of Cavan County Council when he signalled his “declaration of interest” in the motion as he himself owns a campervan.

However he joked saying he “doesn’t plan to park in Cootehill overnight”.

Clr Fitzpatrick told the meeting that, while campers do park in the county, there are not enough designated bays for them to refill their water supply and extract any used water.

He believes, if more resources were made available, it would increase tourism in the county.

Disappointed, he pointed out a “small town that’s not in my MD has signs up saying - no overnight parking”.

“We should be attracting tourists,” he argued, pointing out that Cavan Calling will soon be happening and the county should be encouraging visitors to “come and stay the weekend”.

He believes the use of campervans is a “growing trend and seems to be catching on”.

Fine Gael Councillor Carmel Brady agreed, saying that there were local groups and firms touring around Northern Ireland and “not being able to bring people back to Cavan,” is a wasted opportunity.

Cllr Brendan Fay joined in on the debate stating: “They can come to Belturbet, they’re more than welcome.”

Senior Executive Engineer John Donohoe responded saying, while there are a lot of areas available to accommodate campervans in Belturbet, there are not a lot of privately owned options throughout the rest of the county, but it is “something we can look into”.

However, he believes allocating more resources is “not straightforward” and once completed “is not going to radically change tourism” to the county.