Vol. 510 No. 6
349 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands if a final decision has been made to introduce a special islander allowance to fulfil the commitment made by the Government in this regard. [23585/99]
As I stated in my reply to Questions No. 13 and 35 of 3 June 1999, the question of an islander allowance is basically a budgetary issue which involves a number of broad policy concerns that need careful consideration. The matter has been under consideration for some considerable time now and I will, therefore, as I have said previously be pressing that a final decision be made, one way or the other, in the context of this year's budget.
