I am pointing out that the major industry there, which is fishing, has disappeared and that the alternative industries provided are not at all sufficient to make up for the loss of income or wealth that the islanders had when the fishing was flourishing. In order to lead up to that picture, I took the opportunity of giving the House an idea of how well-off the people on the islands were prior to native Government. It is only for that purpose that I deviated from the actual subject matter of the question.
If the Minister for Lands, who is also the Minister in charge of the Gaeltacht services, is serious about the job of providing suitable and permanent industries for the western seaboard, which includes the Aran Islands, the key industry that should come under his control in order to improve conditions is the fishing industry. I regret that the Minister himself now maintains that he has no responsibility for the fishing industry, and as far as he is concerned, and as far as I can ascertain now from him, he is mostly interested in the setting up of toy industries in the congested areas. I am afraid that toy industries are a very poor substitute and hold out very little hope of permanent employment for the people that he describes in his answer to my question as "a hardworking, healthy race, who are, as always, taking advantage of Government schemes to improve their housing conditions". I thoroughly agree with the Minister that the islanders are a hardworking healthy race, but I want to go further and say that they are a very patient race to have put up with conditions as they have done for some years past.
The Minister is responsible for the small industries, such as the seaweed and kelp and the sea-rod industry. If the lot of the islanders is to be made easier in connection with these industries, if they are to make any money at all, it is the Minister's duty to see that suitable piers are erected on those three islands. Surely the Minister cannot dissociate himself from the responsibility of providing piers in connection with these industries? The plain fact is that on two of the islands there are no facilities for landing. On Inishmaan there is what is described as a slip, but which is really a breakwater, and it is placed on the wrong side of the island. It is impossible even for a fishing trawler to get within less than a quarter of a mile of the shore.
Every landing that has to be made on Inishmaan or Inis Thiar has to be made by a currach—and I am sure I need not explain to the House what a currach is. It would be interesting for some members of the House to see for themselves the dangers which these islanders have to undergo in making a landing on these particular islands. The best way I can describe it is that when any of those currachs are coming in to the shore the men have actually to count the waves before they land for fear they would be dashed against the rocks. All credit is due to those hardy and healthy islanders for the courage that they display under such primitive conditions. If the Minister is really keen on the development of rural industries there, he must see first of all that proper piers and landing places are made available on the islands. Otherwise, the transport system itself will fail.
I understand from the Leas-Cheann Comhairle that the actual question of transport to the islands is not the responsibility of the Minister for Lands or the Minister in charge of Gaeltacht services, but in order to prove my point that conditions are primitive on the island, I think I am entitled to say that at least every family there should have at their disposal the means of warming themselves during the winter months and cooking their food over a decent fire. The position over the winter months there is almost unbelievable. Were it not for the fact that some 300 tons of fuel was made available recently, I shudder to think what conditions might be like at the moment.