Vol. 462 No. 6
4 Mr. Molloy asked the Taoiseach the steps, if any, he will take to extend a scheduled passenger air service to Inishbofin, County Galway and Inishturk and Clare Island, County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4981/96]
The report of the Interdepartmental Committee on Island Development sets out new mechanisms to deal with the key issue of access services to the offshore islands in a strategic and integrated way. Under these proposals, the relevant local authority islands committees, in consultation with islanders and Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann, will prepare a programme of works for bringing the level of access services to the offshore islands up to a socially desirable minimum standard. The proposals will reflect the priority needs of the islands concerned. These submissions from the relevant local authorities will form the basis on which funding will be allocated in 1996 by the Interdepartmental Co-ordinating Committee on Island Development.
Funds will be allocated on the basis of need and the quality of proposals submitted. Individual projects will be assessed not only on their merit but, particularly, in the context of the overall strategy for islands as set out in the report. The provision of a scheduled passenger air service to Inishbofin, Inisturk and Clare Island will be considered, along with all other options, as part of this integrated and strategic approach.
The Minister's reply is gobbledygook. The part of the report I have with me refers to air access. My question related to the extension of the air service but the Minister gave me a general answer about the different types of access to islands for which local authorities are responsible. They have no responsibility for air access. I tabled this question on numerous occasions in recent years and have been consistently told "the interdepartmental committee is reviewing the situation in regard to the island and we have to await the publication of its report". Having awaited the recommendations on the extension of the air passenger service to islands other than Inishmaan, Inisheer and Inishmore all it states is: "A satisfactory resolution——
I have to dissuade the Deputy from quoting at Question Time as it is not in order.
It states that a resolution of this extremely difficult issue will be central to ensuring the long-term viability of island communities. Like the Minister's reply, that recommendation is gobbledygook. It should have been possible after three years to make a positive recommendation on extending the air service to Inishbofin, Clare Island and Inishturk. It may also be possible to extend it to other islands.
This is tending towards argument.
Will the Minister of State, who was chairman, say why the interdepartmental committee did not make a recommendation on the extension of the scheduled air passenger service to other islands?
Deputy Molloy conveniently quoted only certain extracts from the report so as to put his own construction on events.
The Minister of State should read the report.
The Deputy will have an input into the decisions if he is still a member of Galway County Council and the islands committee. These matters will first be considered by the local committee and it will then be up to Deputy Molloy and other councillors who represent areas contiguous to the islands to put forward proposals to the interdepartmental committee and to prioritise them. If the Deputy believes the provision of an air service to Inishturk, Inishbofin and Clare Island is an immediate priority then he should say so to the interdepartmental committee which will examine the matter in due course.
Was the interdepartmental committee, of which the Minister of State was chairman, not supposed to report on this matter?
Let us hear the Minister of State without interruption.
I do not want to open up old wounds. To strike a balance, we included the non-Gaeltacht islands which had been neglected by successive Governments over the years. Inishbofin, Inishturk and Clare Island will be looked after consequent on the county council island committee meetings at which proposals will be put forward to the interdepartmental committee. We will ascertain the exact position at that stage.
The interdepartmental committee had no proposals after three years.
The Minister has given the most convoluted and evasive answers given to simple questions in a long time. The interdepartmental committee must have hired "Sir Humphrey Appleby" to work out how one need not do anything about certain matters. Does the Minister favour the provision of an air service to the three islands mentioned and, if so, to what agency should the islanders apply for finance? How can Galway County Council make a recommendation on Clare Island and Inishturk which are off County Mayo and Mayo County Council make a recommendation on Inishbofin which is off the Galway coast? Does he agree that a proposal on the provision of an air service to these three islands would have to be an integrated one because even though they are in an archipelago they are the responsibility of different county councils?
The questioning is over long.
Does the Minister have responsibility for this issue or has he transferred all the powers in a convoluted way to five or six county councils to ensure that nothing is done about the provision of basic services to the islands?
The Deputy said I had avoided my responsibilities.
All I ask is that county councils and the islanders who live off the coast prioritise their own needs. As Deputy Ó Cuív illustrated in his long question, there is need for an integrated approach.
You are the Minister.
There is not an inexhaustible supply of money. There is a limit to what the State can do. Under the financial envelope I have, I am seeking to accommodate many of the wishes of the people concerned.
The Minister is not doing too well.
I will do as well as I am allowed to. I am not inspired like, for example, Deputy Molloy, who is inspired from time to time to spend the State's money but who on other occasions will criticise the Minister for Finance for spending too much. He wants to be Tadhg an dtá thaobh when it comes to expenditure and cuts.
That is a pretty poor response.
I am a little impatient with the sniping of Deputies who live in the area contiguous to these islands whose parties neglected the islands for many years. I do not wish to traipse over that ground, but if Deputies read the report they will see that there is an opportunity for the Galway and Mayo islands committees to get together and propose an air service for the three islands concerned. If that proposal is put to the interdepartmental committee I am sure it will receive fair examination.
We have spent half an hour on these four questions.
Not on this question.
I am promptly proceeding to priority questions. I will hear a brief question from Deputy Molloy and from the two other Deputies who have indicated they wish to be heard.
I accept that we will have an opportunity to air these matters tomorrow. In view of the attitude taken by the Minister and of his attempts to point the finger at me for neglecting my constituency, I would remind him that 25 years ago I was responsible for getting an air service to Inisheer, Inishmaan and Inishmore at a time when there was little money available and no European Union funds.
Deputy Molloy's memory is not quite accurate. It was Deputy Tom O'Donnell who as Minister for the Gaeltacht introduced an air service to the Aran Islands, not Deputy Molloy.
It is my understanding that if the Minister gives incorrect information to the Dáil he is obliged to correct it. The Minister has now given inaccurate information to the Dáil.
If the Deputy is dissatisfied with the reply of the Minister of State, he has a remedy.
As a member of the islands committee of County Galway I have no doubt that it will recommend the provision of an air service to Inishbofin Island in County Galway. If so, can the Minister undertake to provide the finance for it?
The finance I have available in the envelope created by the Government will meet the priority needs as designated by the four island committees.
How much money is in the envelope?
There is £1 million in the envelope.
The Taoiseach gave Deputy Carey responsibility for the islands. When is he going to accept that responsibility?
The Minister is very badly briefed.
It is easy to see how isolated Deputy Power is in the splendour of the plains of Kildare. He has no idea what goes on in the islands.
We will expect a correction from the Minister of State tomorrow of the inaccurate statement he made about the commencement of Aer Aran long before Tom O'Donnell came into office. It is sad that the Minister is so badly informed.
The Deputy should not seek to shout down the Chair. He can see me standing and must resume his seat and remain silent.
