Waterford man John Hayes's 'Guardian of the Deise' project has been submitted in an application for funding to Fáilte Ireland's Platforms for Growth grant.
The Platforms for Growth initiative is a new scheme to encourage both new and existing tourism ideas to fill gaps in the market.
Fáilte Ireland says it's received a record number of applications for the new fund worth 150 million euro to develop tourism attractions around the country.
The ideas submitted total almost 1.3 billion euro.
Dublin had the highest number of applicants at 25, followed by Kerry with 16, Galway 13, Cork 12 and Donegal had 10 submissions.
Waterford wood sculptor John Hayes has been working on his 'Guardian of the Deise' idea for the past three and a half years, and hopes his idea is one of the chosen projects.
Visitors will be able to climb up the steel sculpture which will sit on the old Ard Rí hotel site overlooking Waterford. The Guardian will be an immersive interactive experience, with viewing platforms to give people a spectacular view of the south-east.
The total project is expected to cost €22 million, but speaking on the Hot Desk, John says it would transform the region's economy:
"At the end of the day what this guy is, he's an advertisement for the South East. He's an advertisement to say come here... you come, you spend an hour at this and then you say let's go hire the bikes, let's go to the copper coast, let's go for a hike in the mountains.
"And then what I hope happens is that there are other entrepreneurs, there's other people who see opportunity like what they've done with the Greenway be it the bike hire guys, be it the lads opening up the coffee shops, the walking tours.
"What you're trying to do is create a brand that everyone can use".
Fáilte Ireland's Mary Stack says the winning projects will help job growth in the industry.
"We know these projects can have a transformative impact on Ireland. And in particular we want to invest in the regions, regionality is a big focus for us in Failte Ireland and we know these projects and this investment can create jobs locally and regionally and bring revenue into the regions."
The state body will work with successful applicants on a phased basis.
LISTEN BACK: Listen to John's interview with Julie Smyth on the Hot Desk:
