Vol. 438 No. 6
31 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for the Marine whether funding will be made available through his Department from EU funds for the replacement and improvement of ferries to our islands; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The Department of the Marine has no responsibility for the provision of funding for ferries to the islands off the Irish coast.
At present, funding for transport to islands is available from the following sources:
1. Section 2 of the Aran Islands Transport Act, 1946, empowers the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications to contract with any person for the carrying on of a shipping service for reward between Galway and the Aran Islands. The Act also enables the Minister to pay, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, an annual subsidy to the operator providing the service. There is no analogous legislation in relation to other offshore islands.
2. An Roinn Ealaíon, Cultúir agus Gaeltachta provides the ferry and assists financially the ferry service to Oileán Cléire, County Cork.
3. Údarás na Gaeltachta assists financially the ferry service and the winter helicopter to Toraigh, County Donegal, provides the ferry for the service to Arranmore, County Donegal and subsidises the air service to the Aran Islands, County Galway, provided by Aer Arann.
The Interdepartmental Committee on Island Development, which is chaired by the Department of the Marine, is currently examining all aspects of island development, including the important question to access transport and the possibility of obtaining EU funding to improve access. I expect a report on the committee's work this spring.
I am very glad the Minister in his capacity as co-ordinating chairman of the islands committee is examining this issue. I should like to bring to his attention the fact that no application is made to the EU for funding towards grant-aiding island ferries.
The interdepartmental committee is sitting at this time and I have not had a report from them. When the report comes to hand I will make it available to the Deputy. I would expect that part of the report would include the issue raised by the Deputy.
Is the Minister not aware that the National Development Plan, has been submitted and because there is no provision in that plan which would enable us to obtain assistance for the purchase of ferries to the islands, we cannot tap in to European funding? That is the problem.
The Deputy is right in saying that no grant aid is received from the European Union for ferries. Roinn an Taoisigh has been requested to include the islands as an area which could qualify for aid under the local development programme mentioned in the National Development Plan. If included, there is a possibility that ferries may receive funding as part of an overall package. I do not want to mislead the House as there is no certainty in this regard.
I have correspondence from Commissioner Bruce Millan of the European Community which confirms that there is no proposal in the National Development Plan which would enable assistance to be provided for the purpose under discussion. Would he accept, furthermore, that the Commissioner of the European Community has stated that it is open to the Irish authorities to raise the matter in this year's CSF negotiations if they so wish? Will the Minister agree that the proper course is for him to have this matter raised in the context of the next tranche of Structural Funds so that he will be in a position, with the aid of European funds, to support the provision and maintenance of ferries to our islands.
I fully support what the Deputy seeks. We are talking here about mobile assets and both I and the Minister for Transport and Communications have been pressing the Commission for assets for other types of sea transport. Unfortunately, the response from the Commission has been rather negative.
It has not been proposed.
It has not been proposed for ferries but it has been proposed for other types of sea transport. Therefore one can expect that if it is proposed for ferries the same response will issue.
Would the Minister not agree that there was an open invitation from Commissioner Bruce Millan when he stated that it is open to the Irish authorities to raise the matter in the context of the CSF negotiations if they wish? All I am doing is asking the Minister to make up for the omission in the national development plan, and ask the Commission to make funding available in the context of the Structural Funds for the support of ferries.
Of course I will do that——
Good.
——at the Deputy's suggestion, but having spoken to the Commissioner concerned in relation to similar-type packages I am saying the response was negative. I would not be too certain that, because Commissioner Millan says to the Deputy that we have not applied, by applying we will receive something positive from him. He has not been too positive towards this country in the past.
I will give the Minister a copy of his letter.
There is no need to.
