Madam, – We wish to comment on a proposal before the governing body of the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) to split the faculty of tourism and food at DIT Cathal Brugha Street. It is proposed to disband the current faculty of tourism and food, with food being subsumed into the College of Science and Tourism and hospitality into the College of Business.
We believe such a serious proposal should not be voted on by the governing body tomorrow without a broad industry consultation.
Good Food Ireland, an industry driven food tourism organisation, has a sustainable vision which is based on an integrated approach between these two significant indigenous sectors. We have demonstrated that food tourism can generate economic growth with particular significance for rural and local communities. We believe a renewed investment and reinvention of the existing faculty of tourism and food would pay dividends in the area of food tourism.
The proposal before the governing body to split the faculty will, in our opinion damage the national capacity to respond to the emerging area of food tourism and all the possibilities it presents.
We call on DIT to postpone the proposal until such time as it fully consults with the industry. – Yours, etc,