Vol. 482 No. 2
4 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands the way in which she proposes to provide proper access to Inisbiggle Island, County Mayo, in view of the inferior and unsafe service currently in operation; the interim air access arrangements, if any, she will put in place; when such arrangements will commence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17479/97]
I will reply to this question in English as the question was put in English although it relates to Inisbiggle which is a Gaeltacht island. It is my intention, in the case of Inisbiggle as in the case of all populated offshore islands which do not have satisfactory access arrangements at present, to assess all viable options in consultation with the islanders and other interested parties with a view to providing financial assistance to enable them to overcome their access deficiencies in the most acceptable and economical manner possible.
I intend in the near future to visit Inisbiggle island so that I can get a first hand overview and sense of the current access difficulties. My Department will then, in consultation with others as necessary, urgently appraise the special access requirements of Inisbiggle, including access by air, and progress proposals that would be deemed safe and economical as soon as possible thereafter.
There were difficulties regarding planning permission for a cable car but a recent appeal to An Bord Pleanála was withdrawn and a fresh planning application is to be made to the local authority.
The reason this question was put down in English relates to the first question I asked of the Minister. Has the Minister of State, whom I wish well in his Ministry, absolute responsibility for decision-making on matters relating to the Gaeltacht?
Decisions made are subject to the Minister's approval.
I am aware the Minister is very active in this Ministry, but I do not know why he has not visited Inisbiggle. There are 65 people living on that island and the crossing, although very short, is dangerous. It is about 15 years since a Fianna Fáil Minister made a commitment to provide a cable car as a method of access to Inisbiggle. I am aware the planning appeal was withdrawn and a new application is to be made. In the document on the provision of facilities on islands and access to islands, there is no reference to access by cable car. What is the Minister's view on this matter? Does he favour access by cable car?
The document states that comprehensive policies on access to islands will be drawn up, but all the methods by which this might be achieved are not specified. There is already a cable car on one island. I have visited 17 islands and there are some in my constituency and in County Mayo which I have yet to visit. I am sure the Deputy is aware of the saying: the first shall be last and the last shall be first. The fact that Inisbiggle will be one of the last islands to be visited will not mean it will be last in terms of dealing with its problems. I am making arrangements to visit the island. I will then be in a better position to assess the options available and make a decision on the way forward. It would be wrong of me, without visiting the island, to favour one proposed solution over another.
The Minister of State will be welcome when he visits the island. He is an astute reader of files and understands how problems arise and are dealt with and obviously he is aware of the implications of the cable car on Cape Clear. However, he did not answer my question as to whether he has a personal preference, given his policy document and his experience of dealing with islands, for access by boat and slipway or by cable car? In the event of Mayo County Council changing its decision to grant permission would the Minister be prepared to fund it, if the cost is reasonable?
Having visited the 17 islands I have learnt that each island and its location is unique. The access problems in each island have to be dealt with specifically in relation to the islands themselves. I assure the Deputy and the people of Inisbiggle we will deal with this issue rapidly. Various options are available. I have often been to Achill and Ballycroy but I have never been to Inisbiggle. Without seeing the island I would be loath to state a preference. The Deputy will not have to wait long to find out in what direction we are moving. As Minister of State I have not yet met the islanders in a formal fashion but I intend doing so in the near future. I do not want to pre-empt that discussion and, indeed, it would be wrong to do so.
I am glad the Minister of State is finding it educational to visit islands and I am sure the 62 people on Inisbiggle will find it inspirational when he visits them. Before he visits them will he agree he is not short of reports given that there are at least two large reports on the cable car and further reports on the hovercraft option? One does not have to visit the island to read the reports. The third option we heard today is the air option to Inisbiggle. Is it the intention of the Minister of State to express a preference for expenditure that might arise from the 1998 Estimates? Is it his intention to enter into a partnership agreement with expenditure that might arise in the Department of the Environment and Local Government through Mayo County Council, if that option recommend itself? Perhaps he could put an outer time limit on any resolution. I have sympathy for the Minister of State because, as I understand it, the 62 people are frequently divided as to which option they prefer.
The options put to me by the Deputy are not the only options. I understand from the study, commissioned by Údarás na Gaeltachta, the possibility of a bridge was mentioned, on which I have costings. My view on the issue is simple. I believe in consultation. I recall when Deputy Higgins was Minister priority was given to consultation. If I expressed a preference today I would be pre-empting open consultation with the islanders. I want to see the island and speak to the islanders and other interested parties. Following that I will deal not only with this issue but with all island issues. A programme to resolve the access difficulties to the islands will be implemented without delay in the coming months and years.
Given the anxiety of the Minister of State to take decisions there are, as Deputy Higgins outlined, substantial files on this matter. The option the islanders suggested when I visited them was the cable car. That was the reason the planning application was submitted. The Minister of State does not have to visit Inisbiggle before making a decision. The people on the island want a cable car and the Minister of State has not answered the question put to him by Deputy Kenny. Has the Minister of State any objection to a cable car?
Caithfidh gur fhoghlaim mé go maith ón dTeachta nuair a bhí sé ar an taobh seo den Teach gan ceisteanna a freagairt go ródhíreach.
I have no objection to any solution on two conditions: that the money aspect be taken into account — the Deputy is well aware of that from his time in the Department — and consultation with the islanders. As Minister of State I have not had the opportunity to deal directly with the islanders. In 17 other islands I have sat down with the islanders and I am in the process of proceeding with a number of issues raised by them. I am surprised Deputies Opposite have not referred to the fact, that although the cable car is an interesting option, sea access could still be an issue. I want to go there, get the costings on all the options and examine them. When we come to the next Question Time I will have been to Inisbiggle. If Deputies wish to table the question again I will be happy to respond to them. It would be wrong to do that without first discussing it with the islanders.
