Vol. 549 No. 4
42 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands her plans to have the Great Blasket Island included in the list of world heritage sites as a site of outstanding value; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6797/02]
Ever since the decision of the Supreme Court that the Blascaod Mór National Historic Park Act, 1989, was unconstitutional, I have been considering how the conservation of this important part of Ireland's historic and cultural heritage could best be ensured. It seemed that progress would best be made through an inclusive consultative process. Accordingly, in May 2001 I invited Mr. Martin Nolan, the Kerry county manager, to facilitate the bringing together of all interested parties into a consultative process to afford them the opportunity of stating their views on options for the future of the Great Blasket Island. This has resulted in the setting up of the Blasket Island forum.
The objective of the forum was to clarify options and to achieve the widest possible consensus on the development of the island, as a precursor to the formulation of an outline conservation management plan. This has been a long and complex process involving detailed discussion with all interested parties over many months. The deliberations of the forum have now been completed and I expect to have the final report of the county manager in the very near future. I will address the issue of pursuing world heritage site status for the Great Blasket as soon as I have had the opportunity of considering the forum's report.
