Leading sports policy makers have praised the formation of the Confederation of Golf in Ireland (CGI) after the game’s governing bodies united yesterday to “further develop and grow golf” on the island of Ireland.

After the best summer weather for a decade, the tourism industry enjoyed a much-needed boost as significant numbers of holidaymakers opted to ‘staycation’ this year.

Waterford Institute of Technology has asked its former president Kieran Byrne to repay some expenses incurred during his time in office that it claims were of personal benefit to him.

Tourism chiefs have claimed optimism in the industry about business is at a five-year high in 2013, despite mixed results for last year.

Another ex-chairman of Waterford Institute of Technology has said he was never told of concerns about the expenses of former college president Kieran Byrne.

A college has admitted it chartered two more previously secret private jet trips for an expert assessing its bid to become a university.

The former chairman of the Waterford Institute of Technology governing body said he organised and sanctioned a controversial €4,200 flight to Dublin for a visiting academic.

STAYCATIONS could be the salvation of the tourism industry this year as more people than ever look set to spend their holiday money at home.

PLANS to bring the Diaspora home for ‘The Gathering’ festival to boost the Irish economy in 2013 have helped to send the Irish Open north of the border this summer.

THE RETURN of the Irish Open this year to Royal Portrush will act as a dry run for bringing the British Open Championship to the Dunluce links at the famed Antrim links in the future.

IT was poignant start to the Titanic centenary year.

TAOISEACH Enda Kenny had the minor advantage of familiarity when he lined up alongside golf’s golden boy Rory McIlroy for the glamour Irish Open Pro-Am in Killarney yesterday.

WATERFORD’S hosting of the Tall Ships Races 2011 has been overwhelmingly praised for its success, which saw up to 500,000 spectators in the city over the four-day festival ending on Sunday.

THE Irish Open may be going ahead without a title sponsor next month but European Tour chiefs will use the event in Killarney to woo a major long-term backer for one of its biggest tournaments.

A PARTNERSHIP between third-level colleges in to south to form a technological university has been described by one college leader as a strong option.

DISAGREEMENTS have emerged between campaigners who are hoping to re-designate one of the country’s largest institutes of technology as a university.

TWO leading academics have urged graduates to remain positive in the face of the current economic crisis.

FÁILTE IRELAND’S commitment to the Irish Open, at least for 2011, means that the country’s flagship golf tournament will go ahead for the second successive year and for the fourth time in all at Killarney on July 28-31 next.

The Irish Open will be played in Killarney again next season, it has been confirmed.

LOCAL food ingredients enhance satisfaction levels among customers, delivering “empty plates” and savings on waste, according to a Good Food Ireland membership survey.

THE field for the ‘3’ Irish Open at Killarney’s Golf and Fishing Club (July 29-August 1) was yesterday boosted by the inclusion of Rory McIlroy, the weekend’s PGA championship winner Simon Khan and 2004 British Open champion Todd Hamilton.

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON has gifted Irish golf tourism the ultimate mulligan by agreeing to front Fáilte Ireland’s new €1.5m worldwide “marketing blitz” free of charge.

TOURISM interests including Fáilte Ireland and the Irish Hotels Federation have warned that the continuing operation of so-called “zombie” hotels was placing many businesses and jobs in the sector in jeopardy.

FÁILTE Ireland has delivered an upbeat outlook for the 2010 tourism season, although many hotel and guesthouse owners expect little or no improvement in business this year.

The vast majority of tourism operators believe the worst is over after the beleaguered sector suffered one of its toughest years, it was revealed today.

THE head of the state tourism board has warned that the Government’s controversial air travel tax will result in net losses of more than €30m to the Irish economy each year.

IT WAS only after “robust discussions” between sponsors ‘3’ and the European Tour that the August Bank Holiday was agreed as the date for next year’s Irish Open Golf Championship to be played for the third time over the Killeen Course at Killarney.

TICKLING the taste buds of visitors with top-quality Irish food can give tourism a nourishing boost, it was suggested last night.

Fáilte Ireland will invest a record €3m in domestic marketing in a bid to face the “biggest challenge to Irish tourism since 9/11”.

THE number of foreign tourists coming to Ireland fell by more than 3% to 7.5 million last year — the first reduction in overseas visitors since 2001.

WATERFORD Wedgwood majority owners Anthony O’Reilly and Peter John Goulandris are set to lose close to €400 million following the collapse of the firm, with a buyer unlikely to be found.

THE Government and tourism authorities are set to embark on a promotion of Ireland’s cultural attractions as a key driver of growth for the sector as Irish tourism faces into an uncertain economic period.

FORMER group chief executive of Waterford Wedgwood, Redmond O’Donoghue, has been appointed chairperson of Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Authority, by Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Martin Cullen.

THE association bringing together Waterford Institute of Technology alumni in Ireland and overseas has established a new London chapter.

THE Government must clarify its higher education policies before an application to make Waterford Institute of Technology a university should be decided, an expert has recommended.

A FORMER GAA president who spoke at the British houses of parliament at the height of the Troubles has become just the eighth person to be conferred with an honorary fellowship by Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT).

WHILE the number of people who completed their education with a third level qualification increased by more than 180,000 nationally between 2002 and 2006, new figures show that the south-east still lags behind academically.

THE long-running campaign to establish a university in the south-east as a catalyst for development in the region has received a boost with the publication of key education reports.

Greencore is moving ahead with its €500m plans to redevelop the former sugar plant in Mallow, County Cork and have appointed a leading businessman to head up the massive project.

GREENCORE has appointed a top business executive to head its €500 million redevelopment project for the former sugar factory site in Mallow, which includes proposals for the creation of 1,000 new jobs.

THE case for re-designating Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) as University of the South East has been further reinforced by studies conducted by FÁS and the ESRI.

WATERFORD’S crystal factory has always had a cherished role in the life of Deise people, as well as in the history and economy of the region.

IRELAND’S tourism industry has evolved from one dependent on the “55-plus, Irish-American, Catholic, war veterans wearing Aran sweaters, green caps and blue rinses” in the 1980s to become a key sector in our economy, a leading hotelier said yesterday.