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Small drop in food exports

Irish food, drink and horticulture exports declined by just 2pc last year despite the pandemic and Brexit. The largest declines were in alcohol, prepared meat products and stew seafood, according to Bord Bia, with total exports valued at €13 billion in 2020, down from €13.2 billion in 2019.

The decline held to low levels due to increases in the value of Irish dairy, pigmeat and sheepmeat exports, along with a boost in exports to Africa and the Middle East. In its annual Export Performance and Prospects report 2020/2021, Bord Bia said the success was down to its “decade-long diversification strategy.

Tinahealy restaurant for salle

Madeline's B&B and Restaurant of Tinahely, Co. Wicklow,has been offered for sale by Kiersey Walker & Associates Auctioneers,with a guide price of €430,000. Tinahealy

Kiersey Walker & Associates' says, "This well-known and extremely popular business premises has a reputation for superb food and above standard comfortable accommodation. The property is an ideal opportunity for the new owners to grow the business into the future as one of the leading locations and much sought after areas of south County Wicklow."

'2019 was Another Era' says Kelly

The chief executive of Fáilte Ireland says that domestic tourism is at a "low ebb" due to the Covid-19 pandemic but stressed the need for the sector to spearhead a recovery once the crisis has passed.

Writing in the 2019 Fáilte Ireland annual report, Paul Kelly said it "is not just a review of last year, it looks back on what seems now like another era".

"This report is written at a low ebb, after a high point," he said.

'It is written too with determination to restart our industry, to ensure our well-trained people have a future in an Irish tourism industry characterised by old values of hospitality and new ideas of innovation."

That high point was 2019, with the report showing 9.7m overseas tourists in addition to domestic trips in 2019, an increase in the number of people employed in the sector and the highest ever number of foreign tourists here.

Killarney 'paired' with Glacier Park

Killarney National Park in Co Kerry is to be paired with Glacier National Park in the US state of Montana. glacier

The agreement signed between Ireland and the United States will make the two sites "sister parks" and will allow for the exchange of ideas about how best to manage the amenities.

There will be collaboration on a variety of shared challenges such as high visitor numbers, controlling exotic and invasive species, working with local communities, and ecological monitoring.

Cathaoirleach of the Seanad, Fianna Fáil Senator Mark Daly, worked with the US Department of the Interior on the project.

All Travellers need Negative Tests

All travellers into the Republic will have to produce a negative PCR Covid-19 test from the previous 72 hours in new rules set to come into effect this Saturday. testing

The Cabinet agreed the new measures on Tuesday.

A Government statement said arrivals from Britain and South Africa would continue to require a negative/not detected PCR test and must continue to isolate for 14 days, even if they take a second test after arrival.

Travel from both of those countries has been restricted in an attempt to avoid importing two more transmissible variants of the Covid-19 first detected there. Both the UK variant and the South African variant have been found in the Republic.