Molaim: "Go léifear an Bille an Dara Uair."
Is é an cuspóir atá leis an mBille seo ná An Blascaod Mór, an t-oiléan is mó de scata oileán amach ó leithinis an Daingin, Contae Chiarraí, a chaomhnú do na glúnta atá le teachta agus chun cosc a chur le haon fhorbairt nach mbeadh fáilte roimpi. Tá sé mar chuspóir aige freisin spéis an oileáin don chuairteoir a mheádú agus é a chumhdú mar áit a bhfuil luach mór cultúrtha ag baint léi. Tá An Blascaod Mór, atá breis is trí mhíle ar fhad le hachar míle agus céad acra nó mar sin ann, trí mhíle farraige ón gcuan ag Dún Chaoin ar an mórthír. Ní raibh riamh níos mó ná dhá chéad duine nó mar sin ina gcónaí ar an mBlascaod Mór agus bhí saol cruaidh acu ar ghabháltais de thrí nó ceithre acra.
Baineann áilleacht uasal nádúrtha leis na Blascaodaí agus is cuimhneachán beo iad ar an saol a bhíodh ag mórán Éireannaigh thar glúnta gan comhaireamh. Le blianta beaga anuas, tá An Blascaod Mór tagtha chun cinn mar áit oilithreachta dóibh siúd a bhfuil cion or leith acu do theanga agus do bhéaloideas na Gaeilge.
Bunaíodh Fondúireacht an Bhlascaoid ag muintir an cheantair sa bhliain 1986 chun an t-oileán a chaomhnú agus a chosaint mar chuid luachmhar dár n-oidhreacht. Léiríonn bunú na Fondúireachta go soiléir go bhfuil fonn ar mhuintir an cheantair sin go ndéanfaí an áit shainiúil seo a chosaint agus a choimeád mar ba chóir. Tá sé soiléir, ar ndóigh, go mbeadh sé thar acmhainn ag aon eagraíocht phríobháideach tabhairt faoi na deacrachtaí atá le sárú agus ba léir gurb é réiteach na faidhbe ná go nglacfadh an Stát seilbh ar an oileán agus go ndéanfaí é a fhorbairt, i gcomhar leis an bhFondúireacht, mar Pháirc Náisiúnta Stairiúil. Gan gníomhaíochtaí na Fondúireachta ní bheadh an reachtaíocht seo ann.
The purpose of this Bill is to safeguard for future generations An Blascaod Mór, the largest of a group of islands lying off the Dingle peninsula, County Kerry, and to prevent any unwelcome development thereon. It is also designed to enhance the island's interest for the visitor and to preserve it as a place of great cultural value. An Blascaod Mór, which is over three miles long and comprises some 1,132 acres, is three miles by sea from the mainland harbour at Dunquin.
The Blaskets are majestic in their natural beauty and are a vivid reminder of a way of life now vanished but which many Irish people lived for countless generations. An Blascaod Mór has become in recent years a place of pilgrimage for those who love the Irish language and its folklore.
Fondúireacht an Bhlascaoid was established by the people of the area in 1986 to conserve and protect the island as an intrinsic part of our heritage. The Fondúireacht represents a clear expression by the local community of their wish to ensure that this unique place is protected and cared for properly. Clearly, however, the resources required and the difficulties to be overcome would exceed the capacity of any private organisation and, accordingly, it seemed to those concerned that the proper thing to do was for the State to acquire the island and, in co-operation with the Fondúireacht, to develop it as a National Historic Park. The activities of the Fondúireacht have indeed made this legislation possible.
The main provisions of the Bill are as follows: The Commissioners of Public Works will be authorised to acquire — by agreement or compulsorily — any land on the island, with the exception of certain lands owned or occupied by persons who owned or occupied them since 17 November 1953 — which is the date the island was evacuated — or, where such persons are deceased, their close relatives. In such cases the Commissioners may acquire the lands by agreement only. The Commisisoners' land and other land acquired under this legislation will be designated a National Historic Park.
The Bill provides that this National Historic Park shall be maintained, managed, controlled, preserved, protected and developed by the Commissioners for the use and benefit of the public as an area in which the historic heritage, culture, traditions and values of the island and its inhabitants will be preserved and demonstrated and its flora, fauna and landscape will be protected. It goes on to set out the duties of the Commissioners in respect of the park, including fostering and promoting its use as a centre of culture, education, leisure and recreation; fostering and promotiong the use of Irish; conserving the flora and fauna of the island and the surrounding seas; conserving or restoring and preserving the traditional dwellings and other buildings on the island and a number of other appropriate functions. The Commissioners will be empowered to make by-laws for the care, detailed management, preservation, protection and development of the park.
There are provisions whereby certain powers of the commissioners may be delegated to Fondúireacht an Bhlascaoid Teoranta. The intention is that the Fondúireacht will be entrusted with the general management of the park. In this way, the local community will be fully involved in the protection and preservation of a valuable and important asset which in one sense belongs to the nation but is very much the special responsibility of the people of Corca Dhuibhne.
An Blascaod Mór will, under these provisions, become a place where the visitor will be brought into immediate contact with much that our European civilisation has half forgotten, a habitat in which the wildlife of the western seaboard can continue to flourish and a historic monument to the genius of the Blasket writers and to the courage and tenacity of the people of the island.
The people of the Blasket Islands were a true community in whom the harsh and often perilous conditions in which they lived fostered a deep sense of mutual interdependence and trust. Their way of life, rich in tradition and folk custom, provided a link with the immemorial past. The details of that way of life have fortunately been preserved for us by many scholars, antiquarians, linguists and literary men, such as John Millington Synge, Karl Marstrander, a Norwegian scholar whom the island people called "an Lochlannach", the Viking, and Robin Flower, whom they affectionately called "Bláithin". Most important of all, however, is the fact that island life has also been preserved for us in the unique writings of the islanders themselves. Visiting scholars such as Brian Ó Ceallaigh and George Thomson encouraged and guided the Blasket writers to undertake some of their most important work. These works have been translated into many languages and recently "An tOileánach", the autobiography of Tomás Ó Criomhthain, has been translated into French by Jean Buhler. Our own Brendan Behan also wrote a beautiful poem about the deserted Blaskets.
No comparable area in the world, inhabited by such a small number of people, has been responsible for such an extraordinary flowering of literary genius. Tomás Ó Criomhthain, Peig Sayers and Muiris Ó Súilleabháin all wrote works, the importance of which, as literary masterpieces, outweighs even their value as records of a life whose dignity and nobility transcended the harsh conditions in which it had to be lived.
In putting this Bill, which has passed all stages in Seanad Éireann, before the Dáil, I am doing so on the basis of all party support. The Bill has the support of all the Deputies and Senators from the Kingdom of Kerry who have been involved in its preparation and the members of Fondúireacht an Bhlascaoid. In this regard, I would like to put on record my appreciation of the very important part played by all of them in helping to make this legislation possible. We had a very full debate in the Seanad during the Second and Committee Stages of the Bill when Senators welcomed it wholeheartedly. I gave an undertaking then that I would propose some slight changes in the Bill in this House to satisfy concerns expressed by some Senators. I am proposing that the Bill as passed by the Seanad be amended on Committee Stage so as to provide that by-laws made by the Commissioners, with the consent of the Minister for the Gaeltacht, under section 3 of the Bill, will be laid before each House of the Oireachtas. I will also propose an amendment which will require the Commissioners, where they consider it appropriate, to consult with the Fondúireacht before by-laws are made.
Ba mhaith liom tréaslú le gach duine a chomhoibrigh go fial flaithiúil san obair seo chun An Blascaod Mór a chaomhnú do na glúnta atá le teacht. Tá mé cínnte go n-éireoidh leis an reachtaíocht atá á plé againn tráthnóna chun na cuspóirí atá roimpi a bhaint amach.
Molaim an Bille do Dháil Éireann.