Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 7 Mar 1996

Vol. 462 No. 7

Report on Island Development: Statements.

Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach (Mr. Carey)

Is cúis mór sásaimh dom labhairt anseo ar Thuarascáil An Choiste Idir-Ranna Comhordaithe um Fhorbairt Oileán. Sílim go mbeidh an cáipéis seo fíorthábhachtach do thodhchaí mhuintir na n-oileán amach ó chósta na hÉireann. Is léir go ndearnadh neamhní ar riachtanisí an phobail iargúlta seo ar feadh i bhfad, ach anois tá creat straitéiseach d'fhorbairt na n-oileán amach ó chósta na hÉireann leagtha amach ag an Rialtas don 21ú aois atá beagnach linn.

Thug an Taoiseach, John Bruton, TD, dúshlán dom go luath an bhliain seo caite maidir le toscaí maireachtála i gcoitinne ar oileáin amach ón gcósta a fhorbairt agus fheabhsú. Chuaigh mise agus mo oifigigh i mbun oibre go sciobtha agus is dócha go bhfuil léargas maith agam faoi láthair ar na fadhbanna atá ag goilliúint agus atá le sárú ag an bpobal seo. Táim tar éis cuairt a thabhairt ar fhormhór na noileán amach ón gcósta agus tá plé déanta agam le coistí pobail éagsúla agus dreamanna eile nach iad atá ag iarraidh na hoileáin a chur chun cinn.

Tá 21 oileán ar a bhfuil cónaí orthu amach ón gcósta thuaidh, thiar agus theas d'Éirinn (de réir Daonáireamh 1991). Is iad na saintréithe atá ag baint leo ná nach bhfuil ceangal acu leis an mórthír agus nach bhféadfaí teacht i dtír orthu ach amháin ón bhfarraige nó ón aer, agus go bhfuil pobal na n-oileán ina gcónaí ann le glúin amháin ar a laghad.

The ongoing difficulties faced by the communities living on our offshore islands have been widely acknowledged. The need for a coherent Government response to this section of Irish society has led to the recent publication of the report of the Interdepartmental Co-ordinating Committee on Island Development which sets out the strategic framework within which future action in relation to the islands can be taken.

The population on offshore islands varies from just a few people to more than 800. For the vast majority of these islands population levels have fallen steadily in recent years. This decline, combined with a comparatively older population than on the mainland, is a serious threat to island communities.

The report highlights a cycle of decline whereby out-migration as a result of the lack of economic opportunity and a reduced level of services combines with an ageing population to further undermine the sustainability of island life. This cycle could ultimately lead to the desertion of many more islands and this would represent a major tragedy for the entire people of Ireland.

Ireland's offshore islands are a linguistic, cultural and heritage asset to the nation and have a special inheritance and a way of life which is unique. We would not easily be forgiven by future generations if we failed to address the needs of our offshore islands and to take appropriate action to safeguard that heritage.

Ireland receives considerable assistance from the European Union on the basis of our peripheral location and our need to gain access to EU markets on equal terms. It would reflect very badly on us if we did not in turn try to assist those parts of our country which are the most remote and vulnerable locations in the State.

Government intervention can also be justified on the basis of the general social policy goal of reducing inequalities in incomes and opportunities between island and mainland communities. This approach also underlines Government action in the fields of education, health and housing as well as local and rural development. The report addresses the needs of the island communities in each of these areas.

However, it must also be stated that there are limited resources available to the State to address the difficulties which have been identified. Our objective, therefore, must be to find the most cost effective way of enabling islanders to participate fully in the economic and social life of the nation through sustainable economic activity. Accordingly, the report stresses the need for long-term sustainable solutions which utilise scarce resources for maximum effect and take account of the environmental pressures which islands may face if development is unplanned or indiscriminate.

The Government has also recognised the need for a partnership between island communities and State agencies which would allow islanders to be prime movers in strategies affecting their own future and this is a central theme underpinning the approach set out in the report.

This report addresses the key issues and difficulties confronting our island communities and proposes a strategic framework within which future action can be taken and which harnesses the energy and resources available from both the public and private sectors in order to make a real improvement in the standard of living of islanders. The report also makes a number of recommendations on specific issues of importance and I would now like to address these.

Without question, the single most important issue facing island communities is access. It is the dependence on sea or air transport which defines island life. At present there is a large variation in the quality of access services and a fragmentation of responsibility. A situation has emerged whereby access to some islands is good while access to others is being seriously compromised through lack of suitable vessels or landing facilities. The Government has acknowledged that each island should be entitled to a socially desirable minimum standard of access service. It has also accepted, in line with the principle of subsidiarity, that access services should be provided at a local level where possible.

I am in the process of meeting the local authority island committees in the countries of Cork, Mayo, Galway and Donegal. These committees comprise local authority members and island representatives. The local authority island committees are being asked to bring forward a prioritised programme of works for island access which will be assessed initially by a technical subcommittee of the interdepartmental co-ordinating committee. This procedure will ensure that local representatives, including island representatives, will be able to put forward proposals which best utilise available resources for island access.

The Government has created a financial envelope within which the current operational costs of access services will be financed, together with a provision for infrastructural works. This allocation has been supplemented by an additional allocation of £1 million 1996.

These changes will facilitate a simplified process for submitting and assessing island access proposals, real local input into the prioritisation and design of services and a coherent and strategic Government programme to bring island access up to the socially-desirable minimum standard.

By involving the local authorities, and utilising the skills available from several Departments on the interdepartmental committee, the Government will be able to extract maximum value from the resources available. The local authority island committees can play a major role in the years ahead as pro-active players in the island development process.

This is not an attempt to avoid responsibility, but a way of establishing structures which will allow local representatives and islanders to participate in decision-making. It would be easy for me to allocate funds on the basis of representations to me or the interdepartmental committee, but this would only centralise power further and prevent the emergence of strong and sustainable structures.

I would like to acknowledge the role played by Deputy Molloy in 1970 when as Minister for the Gaeltacht he initiated the proposal for an air service to the Aran islands. I was not quite accurate when I contradicted the Deputy yesterday.

Mr. Molloy

Go raibh mhaith agat.

Mr. Carey

It must also be said that the former Minister, Tom O'Donnell, in 1973 sanctioned the first investment by Gaeltarra Éireann, Údarás na Gaeltachta's predecessor, in Aer Aran.

The local authorities have also been asked to draw up reports on the infrastructural requirements of the islands and to submit these to the interdepartmental committee within six months. Particular attention has been drawn to the issues of waste disposal and water supply. Of course each island faces a unique set of circumstances and responses will have to vary according to these local conditions.

Education is of particular importance to island communities because the link between young people and their island can be broken when they have to travel to the mainland for secondary education. Of course, having to send children away to school at a young age is itself a great disincentive for parents living on an island.

The Government, on the recommendation of the report will include representation from island communities on the new regional education boards; the Government will increase the means test limit in respect of the remote area boarding grant in line with third level education grant limits, this will ensure that many more parents qualify for this grant aid; and it has been agreed to undertake a pilot project on the use of information technology as an educational resource on an island.

The report's recommendations in relation to the health services, energy supply and communications have also been accepted. The interdepartmental committee will now follow-up on these proposals with the relevant State agencies and I expect to see the quality of these services to the islands improve over the coming years.

The limited economic development of the island can be ascribed to factors such as access costs, poor infrastructure, low population density and peripherality. Many island communities have therefore been marginalised, with their economies heavily dependant on transfers through the social welfare system.

The problems of access and peripherality have mitigated against industrial development on the islands. However, economic activity is taking place in agriculture, fishing, tourism and crafts. The report has identified further steps to be taken in these areas to stimulate development and maximise their contribution to the island economies. I visited some of the islands and the work taking place there is commendable.

Changes in the budget disallow the first £2,000 of income from REPs for social welfare purposes. That is important and it removes one of the obstacles to the take-up of REPs on the islands.

The islands have great potential as tourist destinations. The interdepartmental committee, in consultation with Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann, will commission a detailed and comprehensive study to examine the potential of tourism on the islands, including the issues of marketing, training and infrastructure. This will complement the work being undertaken by Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann through the Leader II programme. A major increase in tourism earnings on the islands will be achieved through this work.

Advances in technology also offer new opportunities for island communities. The use of computers for work or education can reduce the disadvantage of geographic isolation.

I know that Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann is upgrading its own computer network to assist communications between islands. In 1995, my Department grant-aided Comhdháil to allow it invest in the necessary technology. I know that it is considering launching a site on the Internet and other such ideas. Sherkin Island Community Council also got grant assistance for the purchase of computer equipment. This will help Comhdháil's own work and allow more islanders to benefit from new technology.

I have also met with representatives of the European Island Commission, part of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions. They demonstrated some of their achievements in the area of information technology. They have already built up a large database on several EU islands. I have also seen some of the excellent work of Údarás na Gaeltachta's subsidiary G-Com. The potential for improving island life through information remains vast.

Following the report, I indicated my intention to initiate a pilot project on the use of information technology as a distance education and information resource for the islands. I expect this project will further develop programmes which can be used to overcome the educational difficulties faced on the islands.

The biggest single difficulty facing islands is the barrier encountered by small, isolated communities in accessing and co-ordinating the many diverse agencies and Departments concerned with their development. In response to this issue, the report has recommended a series of measures. First, each local authority, through its island committee, has been asked to take an expanded role in articulating and responding to island needs. I have met the Cork Island Committee and have arranged dates within the next month to meet the other three local authority island committees. This role for the local authorities in promoting island development is consistent with the Government policy of devolving power and responsibility to a local level.

Each non-Gaeltacht island with a permanent population threshold of 100 which is not currently receiving community development support is to have the services of a community development officer. This will help to stimulate local development initiatives on the non-Gaeltacht islands.

County strategy groups have been established in every county to provide for effective liaison and communication between the different local development bodies. They will now put in place mechanisms to ensure full consideration of the particular needs and unique aspects of island communities.

The area partnership companies have been asked to foster links with their island communities to ensure that the needs of islands are fully recognised within the partnerships' local development plans.

The islands are also to have available to them the services of appropriate officers of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Teagasc and the Departments of the Marine and Enterprise and Employment. These officers will act as points of contact as well as examining and promoting the potential for island development.

Finally, and most important, the Interdepartmental Co-ordinating Committee, chaired by myself as Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach, will oversee the implementation of the report. This will ensure that the recommendations are followed through. The local authority island committees and Comhdháil will have links with the interdepartmental committee to ensure that policies and programmes continue to develop in accordance with the needs of islanders.

I thank Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann for its very constructive contribution to the report and ongoing work on behalf of the islands. Comhdháil has played a vital role in bringing together the different islands from Tory to Skerkin. It has worked to build links between all the islands and to bridge the differences between Gaeltacht and non-Gaeltacht islands.

The inhabitants of Rathlin Island, off the coast of Antrim, have recently voted to join Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann. I very much welcome the opportunities for co-operation and exchange provided by their membership. They have much in common with their colleagues along the other coasts and I hope mutual benefits will arise from this common link.

The Government on the recommendation of Minister of State, Deputy Deenihan, selected Comhdháil as a Leader II company. This is the first time the islands have been designated as a single unit for a programme such as this and is a recognition of the high quality work of the Comhdháil executive and its full-time staff.

The funds available through Leader II will allow many developmental projects to take place. The programme will also help to empower local community groups to play an even greater role in the local development process. Leader II provides a real opportunity for the islands to promote tourism and other economic activities. The ideas included in Comhdháil's submission included a single brand or marketing image for all island produce. I very much welcome this and other initiatives.

I thank the members of the interdepartmental committee for their time and effort. I look forward to working with them during the implementation of the report which represents a strategic framework for developing the offshore islands of Ireland. While it does not represent a panacea or a dogmatic set of rules it does provide an important basis for action and policy-making by this and future Governments. I believe it will be judged as such in the years to come and I am pleased to recommend it to the House.

Éamon Ó Cuív

Cuireann sé áthas orm labhairt ar an ábhar seo inniu ach caithfidh mé a rá go gcuireann sé andíomá ormbheith ag labhairt ar tuarascáil atá chomh bocht agus a bhfuil a laghad sin ann. Tá mé ar feadh trí bliana ag fanacht ar an tuarascáil seo agus is dócha go raibh cuid againn ann i dtosach báire a cheap go mbeadh plean gníomhaíochta anseo a bhféadfaí tabhairt faoi láithreach agus a chuirfeadh chun leasa na n-oileán. I ndeireadh an lae is léir céard a tharla, go raibh ionadaí as gach Roinn Stáit ag plé leis an tuarascáil gan éinne sásta aon chumhacht a ghéilleadh agus in ionad baint den mhaorlathas a bhaineann le bheith ag plé le cúrsaí oileáin tá curtha leis mar tá na comhairlí contae anois curtha isteach san áireamh. Is bocht an scéal é gurb é sin an toradh atá ar shaothar trí bliana.

An t-am seo anuraidh, ag caint le Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann, leag mise amach plean gníomhaíochta do na hoileáin. Is dóigh liom go raibh níos mó a bhí suntasach agus a bheadh éifeachtach sa phlean a leag mé amach an lá sin ná mar atá sa tuarascáil atá faoinár mbráid. Caithfidh mé a rá go bunúsach nár tugadh aghaidh ar bhunfhadhbanna na n-oileán. Tá go leor ráite, tá go leor dea-thola ann, ach níl aon phlean gníomhaíochta ann. Ar an gcéad dul síos ba mhaith liom díriú ar cheist, dar liomsa, go mba cheart díriú uirthi. Tá sé in am gur Roinn amháin a bheadh ag plé leis na hoileáin feasta. Mar is eol don Aire Stáit, níl ina gcónaí ar na hoileáin amach ón gcósta ach suas agus anuas le 3,000 duine. Tá os cionn 2,000 de na daoine sin ina gcónaí ar oileáin Ghaeltachta agus 800 acu ina gcónaí ar oileáin Ghalltachta.

Rinne mise moladh an t-am seo anuraidh, moladh a bhí simplí, éasca é a chur i bhfeidhm agus nach dtógfadh ach cinneadh beag Rialtais, is é sin, go gcuirfí na hoileáin ar fad isteach faoi aon Roinn amháin agus go dtabharfaí an Roinn Ealaíon, Cultúir, Gaeltachta agus Oileán níos mó ar an Roinn sin; is é sin go mbeadh dhá chuid sa Roinn Ealaíon, Cultúir, Gaeltachta agus Oileán, an Roinn Ealaíon agus Cultúir agus an Roinn Gaeltachta agus Oileán. Dá ndéanfaí é sin d'fhéadfaí ansin rudaí ar nós na seirbhísí farantóireachta agus na céanna a chur faoi aon Roinn amháin — bheadh freagracht ann. D'fhéadfaí freisin cúram gnó eile a chur faoi Údarás na Gaeltachta agus Oileán. Bheadh daoine ann a déarfadh go mb'fhéidir go ndéanfadh sé sin dochar ó thaobh na Gaeilge de, ach caithfear cuimhneamh go bhfuil níos lú cainteoirí Béarla i gceist sna hoileáin Ghalltachta ná mar atá i gceist i mbaile mór Bhéal an Mhuirthid, i gceantar na bhForbacha nó i gceantar Bhearna Thiar. Ó tharla go mbeadh sé soiléir go raibh dhá ról níos mó ag an Roinn seo, ról oileánda agus ról Gaeltachta, is dóigh liomsa go mbeadh sé soiléir go ndéanfaí plé leis na hoileáin Ghalltachta trí Ghaeilge-Bhéarla agus plé leis na hoileáin Ghaeltachta trí Ghaeilge.

Níl an moladh simplí sin sa tuarascáil. Mar a deirim, is léir nach raibh an toil pholaitiúil ann cur isteach ar aon cheann de na Ranna Stáit agus gur ligeadh seans thar bráid. Tá caint sa tuarascáil ar fháil isteach agus amach ó na hoileáin, ach, dáiríre, aon mholtaí ann. Tá caint ar an gclúdach seo go bhfuil an milliún punt seo ann, ach níl sé ráite go soiléir cén chaoi a gcaithfear an milliún punt seo. Tar éis trí bliana séard a bhí mise ag súil leis ná go mbeadh staidéar taobh istigh den tuarascáil seo ar cén chaoi a seasaimid i láthair na huaire ó thaobh céanna de, ar an mórthír agus ar na hoileáin, chun freastal ceart a dhéanamh ar na seirbhísí farantóireachta agus go mbeadh suirbhé cuimsitheach ann ar éifeacht na seirbhísí farantóireachta go dtí na hoileáin agus moltaí dá réir ó thaobh céanna agus seirbhísí farantóireachta de. Tar éis trí bliana níl sé sin ann. Níl ann ach gur féidir le comhairle chontae staidéar a dhéanamh anois agus moltaí a chur chuig an Aire. Má bhí sé i gceist aige an cúram sin a leagan ar na comhairlí contae, bheadh sé chomh maith an t-airgead a thabhairt dóibh agus ligean dóibh dul ar aghaidh leis an jab. Ach an rud atá ann anois go mbeidh dream amháin ag moladh do dhream eile scrúdú a dhéanamh ar an rud seo nó ar an rud siúd, níl aon chiall ná dealramh leis, agus sílim go bhfuil a fhios ag an Aire é sin.

Téimid ar aghaidh ansin go dtí cúrsaí oideachais, agus sin an áit a dtéimid chun seafóide. Tá deontas ann ar a dtugtar, remote areas boarding grant. Go dtí seo bhí teorainn ioncaim ag baint leis an deontas seo. Is minic a thóg mise ceist faoin teorainn ioncaim sa Teach. Tá i gceist anois ag an Aire an teorainn a ardú ó £9,000, go garbh, suas go dtí leibhéal na ndeontas tríú leibhéal. Chuir mé ceist ar an Aire Oideachais le gairid, cá mhéad duine atá ag fáil an deontais theoranta, is é sin, cá mhéad duine ar na hoileáin a bhí os cionn na £9,000, agus cá mhéad duine taobh amuigh de na hoileáin a bhí ag fáil an deontais seo a bhí os cionn na teorann ioncaim. Cúig dhuine is fiche san iomlán a bhí i gceist, agus bhí 24 dhuine acu sin ina gcónaí ar na hoileáin mhara — duine amháin ar an mórthir a bhí i gceist. An bhfuil an tAire a rá liomsa, nó an tAire Stáit, go bhfuil ciall nó réasún le scrúdú maoine agus is éard a bheidh de thoradh air go mbeidh ceathrar nó cúigear a bheidh os cionn na teorann ioncaim. Sin seafóid. Costas cúig mhíle punt san iomlán a bheadh i gceist le fáil réidh leis an teorainn ioncaim go hiomlán agus caithfear airgead mór ag cur scrúdú ioncaim ar chuile ghasúr as na hoileáin a bheidh ag dul ar scoil ar an mórthír. Cúigear nó seisear ar na hoileáin a bheidh os cionn na teorann ioncaim — múinteoirí, bainisteoirí monarchana agus daoine atá ag cur seirbhísí fíor-riachtanacha ar fáil ar na hoileáin, nó an cineál dreama is deacair a mhealladh isteach go dtí na hoileáin. Agus ansin tá an Rialtas ag rá go bhfuil siad i bhfabhar daoine a choinneáil ar na hoileáin.

Tiocfaidh mé ar ais ar ball go ceist na n-aersheirbhísí, ach tá faillí déanta ansin freisin. Ba mhaith liom dul ar aghaidh go dtí ceist chúrsaí costas maireachtála. Tá a fhios ag an saol Fódlach gur ceann de na fadhbanna is mó a bhfuil muintir na n-oileán ag strácáil leis ná an costas a bhaineann le maireachtáil ar na hoileáin. Níl dada ráite faoi go bhfuil fiú caint air istigh an tuarascáil seo.

Tar éis sin, ar ndóigh, tá an cheist ann maidir le VAT a íocann oileánaigh ar rudaí ar nós bia, éadaigh ghasúr, mar go gcaithfidh siad VAT a íoc ar an iompar isteach go dtí na hoileáin agus níl aon chúiteamh molta sa tuarascáil seo ar an VAT sin. Arís, rinne mé moladh tá bliain ó shin, moladh a bhí simplí agus éifeachtach, go mbeadh an-ghlacadh ag muintir na n-oileán leis, go mbeadh liúntas oileánach ann sa chóras leasa shóisialaigh agus cánach agus go mbeadh ruainne beag breise le fáil ag an dream a bheadh ag brath ar chúnamh leasa shóisialaigh ar na hoileáin, agus liúntas cánach breise do na daoine atá ina gcónaí ar na hoileáin i bhfianaise na cánach breise a íocann siad ar VAT ar rudaí a thabhairt isteach go dtí na hoileáin. Níl aon tagairt do sin sa tuarascáil.

Tá tagairt sa tuarscáil, ar ndóigh, d'fhorbairt na turasóireachta — tá an tAire tar éis é a lua ar maidin — d'fhorbairt na hiascaireachta, d'fhorbairt na talmhaíochta, ach tá a fhios ag an Aire é féin, agus tá a fhios agamsa, gur beag duine ar na hoileáin nach mbíonn ag brath ar chúrsaí leasa shóisialaigh ag am éigin den bhliain. Faoin gcóras scrúdú maoine, má chuireann duine ar oileán lena ioncam ó thaobh chúrsaí iascaireachta, lámhcheardaíochta, feirmeoireachta nó cúrsaí turasóireachta de, baineann an Roinn Leasa Shóisialaigh an tsuim chéanna díobh sa chúnamh leasa shóisialaigh. Mar sin, tá fáinne fiaigh ann nach féidir a bhriseadh.

Ná habradh an tAire liomsa nach bhfuil ann ach corrdhuine ar na hoileáin gur féidir leo déanamh gan chúnamh leasa shóisialaigh i rith na bliana, ach arís níl aon rud ráite faoin scrúdú maoine. Táimid fós ag dul ar aghaidh leis an tseafóid go bhfuil scrúdú maoine á chur ar fheirmeoirí in áiteanna ar nós Inis Meáin, Inis Bó Finne agus Inis Oírr, feirmeoirí nach bhfuil acu ach dhá bhó agus go bhfuil an oiread sin eolais acu a chur isteach chucu nuair atá a fhios ag an saol Fódlach nach bhfuil aon bhrabach acu as na rudaí seo.

I am disappointed with this report because it does not address the issues in a meaningful way. There are no proposals for the reorganisation of services to ensure that islanders may access services at the one stop shop. The manager of Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann has to deal with one set of agencies on behalf of the Gaeltacht islands and different agencies for the non-Gaeltacht islands. A year ago I put forward a very simple proposal that all islands, irrespective of being Gaeltacht or non-Gaeltacht, would be under the aegis of a new Department to be known as the Department of the Gaeltacht and the Islands. There are 800 people living on non-Gaeltacht islands and in excess of 2,000 living on Gaeltacht islands. The ferry services, the piers and so on should be the responsibility of one Department.

When the interdepartmental committee sat around the table with a representative from every Department its prime objective was to ensure that no Department lost control of any of its functions. That is the nature of civil servants participating in an interdepartmental committee but the function of the politicians should have been to ensure that the islanders' requirements were put ahead of departmental empire building. There is no proposal to get rid of the ludicrous arrangement whereby the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications provides the ferry services to the Aran Islands, the Gaeltacht islands have no subsidised transport services, even though everybody in Dublin has subsidised transport services, and the transport service on other islands is subsidised by the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht. Even at this stage I ask the Minister to address this issue.

The Minister of state said that access transport is vital but what is done about this in the report? Instead of a blueprint we are told that the county council will set out the proposals on access transport. It should have been possible in the past three years while this committee was sitting, and particularly in the past year with the office of the Minister of State dedicated to the task, to draw up an action plan and survey all the requirements to provide access transport, in both landing facilities and ferry facilities. This did not happen. What is needed is a landing facility on each island and a corresponding landing facility on the mainland, suitable for the ferry boats that are required.

If we are to make it attractive for young people to stay on the islands the most important requirement, as has been proven in the Aran Islands, is efficient access transport. People should be able on a regular basis to leave the islands in the morning, do their business and return to the islands in the evening. There is nothing in this plan or in the famous £1 million envelope that would lead anybody to believe this will be addressed in a meaningful way. It is very hard to stomach the allocation of £1 million in 1996 for access transport to the islands when one reads in today's newspaper that £17 million will be spent on a few Dublin DART stations. Islanders for whom the ferry services are literally their only way on and off the islands are to be given £1 million to be divided among all the islands, despite the Minister of State's admission that they have been neglected for a long time.

The report's recommendations on education are a sick joke. The means test for the remote areas boarding grant has been set for many years at the ridiculous level of £9,000. I have stood in this House time and again asking that it be abolished. Instead, provision has been made for a means test set at the level of the third level education means test. I tabled a question to the Minister for Education asking how many students were getting the remote areas boarding grant whose parents' income was above the limit; the answer was 25, 24 of whom were living on offshore islands. By raising the income means test level to £17,000, many of the 24 will be exempt but the Government will means test the income of parents of all children attending secondary school because there is no secondary school on the island and five or six will be over the limit. This is bureaucracy gone crazy. It should be pointed out that the people who are unlikely to pass the means test are teachers, gardaí and the co-op managers. Are we trying to drive them off the island and make it impossible to get people such as teachers, gardaí and factory managers to live on the islands? We talk about developing basic services. Everybody is entitled to a free secondary education. The cost of boarding is part of that entitlement and should be available to everybody on the islands without undergoing a means test. It is a total nonsense to impose a means test. I would go further. The grants should have been increased radically to cover proper modern boarding costs and the cost for students of getting to and from the island on a regular basis.

The Minister also mentioned new technology. The headmistress of one of the schools on the Aran Islands was in touch with me when she was given the new technology and wanted to exchange it for a photocopier. The reply I received after three or six months was that it could not be done. We talk about bottom up development. It is about time we listened to people and gave them their choices rather than telling them what they must take.

The question of air services to the islands is not addressed. We all know fixed wing aircraft are much cheaper to run than helicopters and that airstrips are cheap to provide. An airstrip could be provided for the cost of a small amount of road. I would have thought in this report we would have a comprehensive commitment to provide airstrips to accommodate fixed wing aircraft on the heavily populated islands such as Inishturk, Clare, Inishbofin, Tory and so on. We know how cost effective this has been in the case of the Aran Islands but there is still no firm commitment to funding such airstrips.

We need helicopters as more and more people are entitled to a winter helicopter service. No clear guidelines or funding are provided for same. We still depend on the Air Corps for emergency services.

The report refers to health. The main requirement from a health point of view is to enable pregnant women and those who are ill or old to attend the clinics and hospitals in the main towns. In the winter it is not good enough that they have to undertake sea journeys to get to clinics. Yet, it is not the type of transport the Air Corps is there to provide. There should be guidelines as to who, be it the Air Corps or a private company, will provide these services and who will fund them. People should have an entitlement to air services to the mainland during the winter to attend clinics. The Government talks about women's health but when it comes to island people, it is very short on action.

The Minister of State is well aware that the cost of living on the islands is much higher than on the mainland. He is also aware that the islanders are the only people who pay VAT on food, children's clothing etc. because they have to pay VAT on the transport of these goods to the islands. Last year, I proposed that islanders be compensated, for the extra cost of living and the fact that they pay VAT on items on which nobody else pays it, by giving them an islander allowance. People on social welfare should receive an extra payment per week and an island allowance should be made available through the tax system to those who pay income tax. The cost would be negligible in budgetary terms but this would be a major step in trying to equalise the cost of living on an offshore island with the cost of living on the mainland.

On the social welfare, the most fundamental issue on the islands was not addressed. There was much talk during the past 25 years about developing fishing, tourism and farming. I have spoken time and again about the depressing effect the pound for pound means testing has on the development of any small industries on the islands. How often do we have to explain that if island people increase their earnings from farming fishing or craft work every penny is taken off the dole or old age pension. As long as that is the system, people will wonder if they are developing all these industries for the Minister for Social Welfare because they are not allowed to keep any profit from it.

The means testing is thorough and comprehensive. Officials from the Department of Social Welfare write to farmers in Inisheer and Inishmeán for full details of income. Why can we not be realistic about this and acknowledge that on an offshore island tourism is for two and a half months, that fishing from an open currach, farming and craft work are not viable and people cannot live without social welfare.

It is about time we told islanders we will not means test any of their activities because the income is so small and the people involved should be entitled to have some profit from their labour. If the Minister took that step for the islanders it would be worth more than everything in this report. If the Minister does not believe me he should go out to the islanders and put the choices to people. He could help self-development on the island. As the Minister funds Leader programmes with the view to helping people, they are being pulled down by the social welfare code, and we are going nowhere.

I was disappointed the report did not mention Rathlin Island, although the Minister mentioned it today. As members of the Comhdháil I would have thought we had a unique opportunity to deal with the islands on an all Ireland basis. We could also have availed of INTERREG funding from Europe and many other European schemes if we had decided to consider the islands on an all Ireland basis. The people of Rathlin Island have a good relationship with the people on the other islands and with goodwill could be included in such a policy. Sadly, this report does not even mention the existence of Rathlin Island.

I hoped to see a clear charter of rights for islanders in this report. I would have liked it stated clearly that islanders are entitled to the same standard of living, at the same cost, as everyone else. Islanders do not want to become guinea pigs; they do not want to become a protected species; they do not want tourists to be sent out to look at them as if they were some type of strange people. They are ordinary Irish citizens. All they are seeking and all I am seeking on their behalf is that they be treated the same as everybody else, that they have the same right of access to services and to subsidies enjoyed by those in the cities, that they have the same right to education as people living on the mainland, that they have the same right to medical services and the same right to the standard of living enjoyed by people on the mainland at the same cost. That is all they and all I seek. I do not like the reservation mentality that some people adopt towards people living in rural areas. I have always objected to the idea that people in rural areas were trying to preserve a standard and a way of life that is not relevant in the late 20th century.

While I want to protect the architectural and cultural heritage of the islands — and my commitment to the Irish language is second to none — I want to do it in a way that is compatible with the highest standard of living, the best use of technology and the greatest quality of life that can be provided in the late 20th century. Nothing else is good enough.

Despite the length of time it took to prepare, this report totally avoids all the difficult questions. It is a political copout and it is clear that the bureaucracy and the perpetual fighting among Departments for the retention of power won in the end. The report is short on specifics and those that it contains are minimal: £1 million for access transport and infrastructure; a change, rather than the abolition, of means testing for 24 people and the exemption of income from the REPs — it was announced in the budget that would be on a nationwide basis. When we examine those specific measures and strip away all the pious platitudes in the report, it contains very little.

I am gravely disappointed with this report because a unique opportunity exists to develop the islands. There are signs that if conditions were favourable, many islanders would like to settle on the islands. The young people, in particular, want to do that but only if they can enjoy a 20th century lifestyle.

Cúis díomá dom a laghad atá sa tuarascáil seo. Ní maith liom seasamh suas anseo agus cáineadh géar a dhéanamh ar rud a chaith daoine saothar leis ach ag deireadh an lae níl tada ann. Mar a deirtear thiar san áit s'againne bíonn an fhírinne searbh agus 'sí an fhírinne í agus sa chás seo is í an fhírinne nach bhfuil tada sa tuarascáil seo ar fiú caint air nó nach bhféadfaí a scríobh in imeacht míosa seachas trí bliana. Is bocht an scéil é go bhfuil muintir na n-oileán fágtha uair amháin eile at brath ar thuarascáil eile i measc na dtuarascálacha go léir atá curtha ar fáil thar na blianta faoi ghnóthaí tuath agus oileáin de. Dáiríre, níl plean gníomhaíochta ann do na hoileáin gur féidir leis an Aire gníomhú air.

Mr. Molloy

Táimid ag fanacht suas le trí bliana is dóigh le haghaidh an tuarascáil seo agus bhí roinnt againn mífhoighdeach de bharr go raibh an Roinn i gcónaí ag déanamh leithscéil faoi cheisteanna a rabhamar ag cur orthu maidir le scéimeanna agus infrastruchtúr agus rudaí eile a bhí ag teastáil ó na hoileáin. Bhíomar ag fáil an freagra go gcaithfimis fanacht go raibh tuarascáil Choiste na n-Oileáin réidh agus foilsithe agus go raibh siad ag plé chuile cheist a bhí á hardú anseo sa Dáil leis na Ranna Stáit.

Chuir sé díomá agus ionadh mór orm nuair a tháinig an tuarascáil amach tar éis trí bliana nuair a chonaic mé nach raibh aon toradh fiúntach le feiceáil ar obair trí bliana. Tá díomá orm mar is dóigh liom go raibh dalla mullóg á chur orainn de bharr na gealltanais a bhí tugtha dúinn maidir leis an toradh a bheadh ar an obair seo.

Níl a fhios agam cén fáth ar tharla sé seo nó cad a bhí ar siúl. An raibh aighneas idir na Ranna Stáit nó argóintí nó an de bharr neamhshuim a tharla sé seo nó cad is cúis leis an drochthoradh? Níl tada le feiceáil ach gur dhírigh an coiste seo ar cheist na n-oileán ach nár tháinig siad suas le haon mholtaí cinnte nó fiúntacha a thabharfadh dóchas do mhuintir na n-oileán seo go raibh an stát dáiríre futhu agus go ndéanfaí beart ar a son sul i bhfad. Sin mar atá agus is dóigh go gcaithfimid fanacht lena fheiceáil an bhfuilimid ceart nó an dtiocfaidh toradh éigin eile as nach féidir linn a fheiceáil anois.

Bhí mé ag éisteacht go cúramach le mo chomh Theachta Ó Cuív ag labhairt ar son Fianna Fáil agus táimid ar an dtuairim chéanna. Ní mór a chur san áireamh nach bhfuil ach daonra de 3,000 daoine nó beagán leis ina gcónaí ar na hoileáin seo agus tá 21 acu ann a bhfuil daoine ina gcónaí iontu. Tá suas le leath de na daoine sin go léir ina gcónaí i mo Dháilcheantar amach ó chósta Chontae na Gaillimhe ar oileáin Ghaeltachta, Inis Mór, Inis Meáin, Inis Oírr agus ar Inis Bó finne, oileán nach bhfuil sa Ghaeltacht.

An rud a chuir as domsa feadh na mblianta ná cé gur éirigh linn Roinn na Gaeltachta agus Údarás na Gaeltachta a chur ar an saol agus rudaí éagsúla a dhéanamh tríd na huirlisí sin ar son muintir na n-oileán Gaeltachta i mo Dháilcheantar ach nach raibh sé chomh héasca sin rudaí a dhéanamh ar son an oileáin nach bhfuil sa Ghaeltacht, de bharr nár thit cúram an oileáin sin ar aon Roinn Stáit ar leith. Bhí na hoileáin amach ó chósta Mhuigh Eo níos faide siar fiú ná ár n-oileáin agus na hoileáin ó thuaidh agus ó dheas, cé nach raibh muide sásta fiú leis an méid a bhí déanta againne.

Cuireann sé ar bís mé éisteacht leis an Aire anseo sa chéad alt dá ráiteas don Dáil. Is léir gur déanadh neamhní de riachtanais an phobail iargúlta seo le fada. Níor deineadh neamhní de riachtanais na n-oileán a bhí i mo Dháilcheantar agus inné bhí orm a chur in iúl don Aire nach raibh an ceart aige nuair a bhí sé ag labhairt faoin aerseirbhís agus glacaim buíochas leis anois as ucht tuarascáil na Dála a cheartú sa mhéid is go dtugann sé aitheantas go raibh an aerseirbhís ann i 1970 cé go gcuireann sé i mo leith go raibh mé i mo Aire Gaeltachta ag an am. Níl sé sin fíor ach an oiread agus níl a fhios agam cá bhfuil an tAire ag fáil an eolais míchruinn seo go léir. Bhí mé i mo Aire Rialtais Aitiúil agus buíochas le Dia, bhí Aire Airgeadais agus Aire Gaeltachta ann ag an am, Seoirse Ó Colla, a raibh an-suim aige sa teanga agus san obair a bhí ar siúl i Roinn na Gaeltachta agus a thug ancúnamh d'aon togra a chuireamar os a chomhair. Is de bharr obair a rinne Seoirse Ó Colla mar Aire Airgeadais agus Aire Gaeltachta a tháinig an aerseirbhís chun cinn nuair a chuireamar na h-argóintí os a chomhair. Fear an-dílis don Ghaeilge agus do na Gaeltachtaí agus mo léan nár tháinig aon fhás ar aerseirbhísí ó shin agus nár éirigh liom féin aerseirbhís a fháil d'Inis Bó Finne cé go ndearna mé brú.

Bhí mé ag súil leis an dtuarascáil seo go gcuirfí amach plean cinnte maidir le seirbhísí riachtanacha a chur ar fáil taobh istigh de thréimhse ach níor deineadh aon staidéar nó aon mholtaí den tsórt sin. Nuair a léitear an tuarascáil is é atá ann ná moladh go ndéanfaí staidéar air seo agus an cás a mheas agus go rachadh daoine ag comhoibriú lena chéile agus go mba chóir do údaráis áitiúla ar fud na tíre díriú ar dheacrachtaí na n-oileán.

Tá gach rud luaite sa tuarascáil ach níl aon mholadh cinnte agus is é an t-easpa pleain an t-easpa is mó ar an dtuarascáil a chuireann as dom.

I am proud that half the population living in offshore islands are in the Galway West constituency, which I have represented for the past 31 years. I have diligently tried to represent their needs during these years. I feel I have a proud record of achievement in succeeding in bringing modern facilities to most of those islanders. However, I often feel depressed with the lack of progress in bringing facilities to those living on other islands.

When I was elected to the Dáil there was no piped water on the islands, except for a small scheme in Kilronan in Inishmore, no tarred roads, except for one coming out of Kilronan on the main island, and no electricity, air or ambulance service or modern ferry. The only ferry went to Inishmore once a week in winter and twice a week in summer, which then had a population that exceeded 1,000 people. There was no inter-island mainland daily passenger ferry service and only a small and inadequate tidal pier at all islands. Land goods could only be brought to the island on high tide at some piers while one could not attempt to go near the others, even on the calmest of summer days, because they were too small.

Many things have happened to the islands in my constituency in the intervening years but I am still not satisfied that we have been successful in providing the people there with the level and standard of facilities available on the mainland. That was always my objective and I hope the Ministers and the various Government Departments will try, as far as possible, to give that a standard of living to those on the offshore islands.

This report is disappointing because it does not set out any specific detailed plan to provide the kind of essential services, facilities and developments for which the islanders hoped. It only gives a list of aspirations under a number of headings, typical of which is the need to establish mechanisms and potential and to examine particular problems. It gives recommendations that matters such as accounting for the need to retain the island's unique culture and language be examined. It also calls for examining the development of the most appropriate strategic approach to developing the island's tourism, the feasibility of establishing an island product marketing group, the development of a strategy for islands, the improvement of facilities for tourists waiting at harbours, the provision of training courses under CERT, FÁS and Údarás and broader issues relating to access, transport, harbours, roads, water and sanitary services.

This report contains only general statements; it is the most disappointing document any interdepartmental group has produced during my years in this House. I have never seen such an ineffective document. What were these people doing? The Minister chaired this committee. How could he expect that the Members of Dáil Éireann and the island communities would openly welcome these proposals when there are no specifics contained in it? Everything in it is vague and generalised and leads to something else. The whole document is pitched and written on the basis that everything needs to be examined and assessed. The kind of report we wanted to hear after all the time these officials, including the Minister, spent looking at this matter would have made specific recommendations. Deputy Ó Cuív made some recommendations and he has good practical knowledge and experience of their needs because, like myself, he has visited them for many years. He also has the added experience of being a bainisteoir of a comharchumann.

I would have liked to have heard something that would have equated to the real needs of the islanders, like a mission statement outlining what the Government sees as its duty to those communities. Is the Government committed in seeking to achieve a standard of living for those on the offshore islands which would equate to that available on the mainland? If its objective in regard to its overall policy for the islands was committed to that kind of mission statement, we could begin to devise ways of solving these problems.

It is difficult to get access to the islands. Enormous additional costs are involved because of that difficulty of access and of the extra transporting of all goods used on the island. If the goods are not manufactured on the island, they must be transported there and goods manufactured on the island, such as agricultural, craft and other pro ducts, have to be brought out. There is no recognition of the unique costs added to these islands. VAT is charged on the purchase of goods. However, it is charged again when they are being transported to the islands. Islanders have to pay double the VAT rate, there is no proposal to grant any concession or any reference to these difficulties in the report.

Since there is a higher cost of living on the islands, which has been estimated as being as much as 50 per cent higher than in the mainland — it is certainly between 33 and 50 per cent — there should be a special level of social welfare payment made to people residing on qualifying offshore islands. These payments should at least be one third higher than the rate applicable on the mainland. Housing grants should also be increased in line with the increase in the cost of living on an annual basis to allow for the exceptionally high cost of building a house on an island.

There is no reference in this report to housing. This is an extraordinary omission. One of the difficulties experienced by islanders in my constituency is if they are not able to build a house for themselves, they must go to the local authority, which will not build one for them unless they provide a site. If they do not own land, they will not get a local authority house and if they do, it is only because they waited many years for a house to become vacant on the island. This real and practical difficulty has been ignored by the Minister, who, with others, worked for three years in preparing this document. A family had to leave the islands because they did not have the wherewithal to purchase a site for Galway County Council which would not buy one. Instead, it provided them with a house on the mainland. Other families have been in touch with me to indicate that they are experiencing similar difficulties. Families who asked the county council to build a house for them on a site provided are living in overcrowded conditions either with a relative or in a broken down old house which is only habitable in fine weather in July and August.

There is no reference to this problem in the report. The local authorities should be obliged to provide sites on the islands to facilitate the construction of houses for those not in a position to provide them for themselves. The housing grants should also be increased on an annual basis in line with the cost of living.

Those in employment on the islands should not be asked to pay tax at any level higher than the standard rate of 27 per cent. There should be a standard subsidy payable to all ferry services to the islands. It is not acceptable that some services are not being subsidised. This is happening in my own constituency. Whereas the services to the three Aran Islands are subsidised, the services to Inishbofin are not. The same applies to the services to Inishturk. There should be no inequality. This problem has been highlighted previously and it is time to eliminate the distinction.

An air service should be provided to all islands with a population of 50 people or more. The Minister of State did not refer to any proposal which would give islanders hope that action will be taken on this issue. The air service to Inisheer, Inishmaan and Inishmore established in 1970 has not been extended to include any other island. If the airstrips were provided it would not present Aer Arainn or any other company with any operational difficulty to provide a service. The Minister of State should give a commitment that an airstrip will be provided on every island with a population of 50 people or more.

Proper landing facilities should be provided to enable ferry boats come alongside the pier in average weather conditions. For generations islanders had to endure cruelty and hardship in rowing out in small boats to ferries to load and unload furniture and various other goods. This should be laid down as a clear objective. An indication should be given that special provision will be made to ensure small piers are raised to a proper standard.

The pier at Kilmurvy on Inishmore was destroyed in a major storm in 1991 or 1992 and all efforts to restore it to its former condition have ended in failure. The Department of the Marine referred the matter to the local authority which, in turn, referred it back to the Department. Roinn na Gaeltachta states that it has no role to play. Yet, the Minister of State claims the Government appointed him to look after the interests of islanders. The pier mentioned, which is used by small lobster boats, has been in a dilapidated condition since the early 1990s when it was demolished by high seas. That is evidence of the neglect.

VAT should not be chargeable on goods transported to the islands. Islanders should be relieved of the obligation to pay VAT on the double.

As the Minister of State recognises, islanders have to travel to the mainland for business, educational, health and various other reasons. This may entail an overnight stay in a town and taking a taxi as there will not always be a bus there when they arrive on the mainland. The costs involved should be taken into account by the Department which should consider providing a regular scheduled service which should be subsidised by the State to ensure that islanders can travel to the mainland early in the morning, transact their business and return in the evening. This has been achieved on the Aran Islands. There should not be top quality facilities on some islands and none on others. We should seek equality. Now that we have access to EU funds for many of these developments, we are in a unique position. This was not the case in the 1970s.

On the question of education, I expected the Minister of State to make a clear statement that the means test for secondary school pupils living on offshore islands would be abolished to allow them avail of boarding out grants, which should be increased. A travel allowance should also be payable to offset the huge extra costs involved. There was a vague reference to increasing the threshold slightly.

It is ludicrous that the same rate of tax is applied to motor vehicles on the islands as on the mainland. These vehicles have made a huge difference to the quality of life of the islanders. In the early years vehicles were always old bangers, but now good quality cars and vans are available. However, because of the condition of the road structure they tend to deteriorate rapidly. Corrosion is a major factor because of the salt air in the marine environment and poor winter weather conditions. Vehicle registration tax levels on the islands should only be one quarter of those on the mainland.

As the Minister of State is aware, the condition of the road structure is a major factor in assessing the quality of life of the islanders. Because of neglect they are in a bad condition. I would have expected specific proposals to be made in a report such as this to bring them up to a satisfactory standard.

Potholes are a problem throughout the country. I hope the ten year programme announced by the Government to resolve it will have some effect. There is no reference to the special needs of offshore islands which must not be left to the mercy of the local authorities. Because of their small populations, the extra costs involved in transporting tar and chips and the inconvenience caused for engineers and workmen in travelling to the islands in bad weather, etc., the task is more awkward. It is much easier to carry out roadworks on the mainland. Somebody must have responsibility for ensuring that island roads are not neglected because of these difficulties.

Water is another basic infrastructural need. The Minister of State said that £1 million would be available for the 21 islands to cover priority proposals put forward by island communities after consultation with Comhdháil and the local authorities. It would probably cost £1 million to provide the water scheme for Inis Mór applied for by Galway County Council — it would certainly cost that to carry out such works on the two islands. A proper sewerage scheme is also required. The Minister of State's £1 million could be used up very quickly if it were used for those purposes. He did not indicate the type of work that would be funded, but £1 million will be of little use if it is used to fund water and sewerage schemes and road improvements.

The report is vague and disappointing. However, I do not wish to be critical. I have been arguing for the needs of island communities for many years. The setting up of the interdepartmental committee is progress because the problems will be focused on, but the lack of positive proposals is disappointing. The report provides us with the ammunition to continue to hound Ministers for follow up action on assessments, reports and examinations. We will not be put off by the glib language in the report.

I wish the Minister well in his endeavours. If he fulfils his aspirations he deserves great credit. If not, the position will be worse than ever. We in Opposition can only highlight these matters and if our parties get into Government we will assume responsibility. In my time as Minister I worked diligently and achieved good results, but I regret not having time to do more. It is sometimes difficult to convince Ministers of the extent of certain problems.

The Government is focusing on the difficulties of island communities. A committee was set up by Deputy Andrews and the Minister of State, Deputy Carey, has been given special responsibility for this area. I support the report's objectives but it is regrettable it contains very few specific proposals. I hope the Minister of State will acknowledge the points made in this debate and fight a harder battle for more funds to meet the needs of the island communities.

Mr. McGinley

Tá lúcháir orm deis a bheith agam labhairt anseo inniu ar an tuarascáil seo atá curtha inár láthair agus comhghairdeachas a dhéanamh leis an Aire agus leis an Taoiseach a chuir inár láthair é. Tá mé féin sa Dáil le 15 bliana agus tá an Teachta Molloy anseo i bhfad níos faide agus ní cuimhin liom aon díospóireacht ó tháinig mé isteach anseo ar oileáin na hÉireann agus na deacrachtaí atá ag muintir na n-oileán agus an méid a tharla do na hoileáin le blianta fada anuas. Táimid i gceannas ar ár gcuid cúrsaí anseo le 70 bliain sa tír seo agus sílim go bhfuil sé scanalach an dóigh a chaitheamar leis na hoileáin i rith an ama sin; bhí dearmad déanta orthu. Sílim go bhfuil creidiúint ag dul don Aire a chuir an coiste seo ar bun agus an Rialtas a d'fhoilsigh é. Ar deireadh thiar táimid ag tabhairt aitheantas do na hoileáin go bhfuil siad ansin agus go bhfuil deacrachtaí acu agus go bhfuil fonn orainn rud éigin a dhéanamh chun an rud a chur ina cheart.

Bhí mé ag éisteacht le cainteoirí an fhreasúra agus deir siad nach plean gníomhaíochta é seo — not an action plan. Ach má dhearctar ar an téarmaí tagartha a tugadh don coiste ní hé sin a bhí i gceist. An rud a bhí i gceist ná anailís a dhéanamh ar dheacrachtaí na n-oileán agus moltaí a dhéanamh. Tá an plean ag dul go direach leis na téarmaí tagartha a tugadh agus sílim gur bunchloch nó dúshraith í an tuarascáil seo ar cad a thig linn a dhéanamh sna hoileáin chun iad a chosaint agus a chaomhnú agus a choinneáil beo ins na blianta amach romhainn.

Tá an plean cuimsitheach. Téann sé isteach i ngach gné de shaol na n-oileán — infrastruchtúr, cúrsaí oideachais agus seirbhíse sláinte, cúrsaí fuinnimh agus mar sin de. Tá gach gné de saol na n-oileán clúdaithe ins an phlean seo. Sa bhliain a bhfuil an Rialtas seo in oifig sílim go bhfuil aitheantas speisialta tugtha acu do na hoileáin, a Cheann Comhairle. Tá Aire Stáit againn a bhfuil cúram na n-oileán air don chéad uair agus tá sé freagrach don Taoiseach féin. Is dul chun cinn mór é sin agus ba mhaith liom tréaslú leis an Aire as an tsuim atá léirithe aige sna hoileáin. Tá sé ag iarraidh cuairt a thabhairt orthu go léir ina chuid am saor agus an deireadh seachtaine seo caite bhí turas an-torthúil aige nuair a thug sé cuairt ar dhá oileán i mo Dháilcheantar féin, an dá oileán is mó a bhfuil daoine ina gcónaí orthu, Árainnmhór a bhfuil suas le 600 ina gcónaí air i láthair na huaire agus oileán Thoraí a bhfuil thart ar 120 air. Tá sé tábhachtach go dtabharfadh an tAire cuairt ar na hoileáin agus go bhfeicfeadh sé mar dhuine ón dtaobh amuigh cad iad na deacrachtaí atá ann agus go mbuailfeadh sé leis an daoine atá ina gcónaí ar na hoileáin, go speisialta na comharchumainn a bhfuil an oiread sin oibre déanta acu le blianta anuas chun saol eacnamaíochta agus sóisialta mhuintir na n-oileán a chosaint agus sin go díreach a bhí ar siúl ag an Aire Stáit i dTír Chonaill an deireadh seachtaine seo caite.

Ba mhaith liom focal molta a thabhairt do na comharchumainn go háirithe an comharchumann ar oileán Arainnmhóir agus an comharchumann ar oileán Thoraí atá ag obair go dian ar son muintir na n-oileán sin. Tá an-obair déanta acu agus ní mór aitheantas a thabhairt freisin don Roinn Ealaíon, Cultúir agus Gaeltachta as ucht an t-ardú suntasach de 40 faoin gcéad a deineadh i ndeontas reachtála na gcomharchumann. Bhí siad ag lorg an airgid seo ar feadh na mblianta, fuair siad geallúintí faoi ó pholaiteoirí agus ba é an tAire Gaeltachta, an Teachta Ó hUiginn leis an Aire Stáit a thug an t-ardú mór seo dóibh a chuirfidh ar a gcumas leanacht ar aghaidh leis an obair forbartha a bhí ar siúl acu. Is beag cainteoir ón bhfreasúracht a dhein tagairt dó sin go dtí seo.

Tá eolas againn uilig ar scéim Leader 1 agus bhí Leader ann do na Gaeltachtaí. An chéim mhór atá tógtha le Leader 2 ná go bhfuil scéim ar leith ann do na hoileáin go léir idir oileáin Ghaeltachta agus oileáin Ghalltachta agus go bhfuil Comhdháil na n-Oileán freagrach as dáileadh an airgid agus reachtáil na scéime seo. Aitheantas is ea é sin do na hoileáin agus do na deacrachtaí atá acu. Anois go bhfuil scéim dá gcuid féin ag na hoileáin tá súil agam go mbeidh toradh na hoibre le feiceáil i gceann cúpla bliain.

Ní plean oibre é seo ach plean a dhein scrúdú ar dheacrachtaí eacnamaíochta, sóisialta, oideachais agus sláinte na n-oileán. Saghas framework atá ann a thabharfaidh deis do na Ranna Stáit agus do na húdaráis áitiúla pleananna a chur le chéile fá choinne na hoileáin a fhorbairt. Sílim go mbeidh dualgas ar leith ar na comhairlí contae agus mar a dúirt an Teachta Ó Maoildhia, b'fhéidir gur deineadh neamart de na hoileáin go dtí seo, ach tá a fhios agam go bhfuil sé de dhualgas ar gach rialtas áitiúil agus ar gach comhairle chontae plean cuimsitheach ar son gach oileán ina gceantar a chur chuig an Roinn chun a rá cad atá ar intinn acu a dhéanamh do na hoileáin ó bhliain go bliain. Is cinnte gur céim ar aghaidh é sin.

Bhí muintir na n-oileán ró-fhada ag éisteacht le daoine ag rá leo seo, siúd agus eile a dhéanamh. Sa phlean seo tugtar ról do mhuintir na n-oileáin féin lena gcuid pleananna féin a chur le chéile i gcomhairle leis na comhairlí contae agus na húdaráis eile. Mar dhuine atá ag déanamh ionadaíocht ar Dháilcheantar ina bhfuil oileán beidh mé ag súil leis go mbeidh an t-airgead ar fáil ó na Ranna anseo i mBaile Atha Cliath.

Tá an-chuid cainte ar fhorbairt ón mbun aníos agus sin go díreach atá anseo agus ní ón mbarr anuas, bhí go leor de sin againn. Ceann de na laethanacha is tábhachtaí sa phlean seo ná leathanach 65. Tá liosta de na hoileáin go léir a bhfuil daoine ina gcónaí orthu ansin.

The section of the report, which lists all the inhabited islands, tells the story of what is happening. If this list had been compiled 20 or 30 years ago there would have been 40 or 50 islands listed rather than the present 20. In the 30 years between 1961 and 1991 there was a drastic decline in the population on every island. In 1961 approximately 1,000 people were living on Árainn Mhóir island in my constituency but by 1991 this had fallen to approximately 600 people, a reduction of 37 per cent. I very much regret that the Minister did not have an opportunity last weekend to visit Bó Finne which suffered a decline in population of 97 per cent between 1961 and 1991. There is no other place in Ireland, Europe or the world which has suffered such a drastic decline in population in a 30-year period.

During the Famine one million people died while another one million people emigrated. The depopulation of islands is on a par with that catastrophe. Last weekend I pointed out to the Minister the beautiful island of Gola, one of the most accessible islands off the Donegal coast but which is no longer inhabited. I remember a time when several hundred people lived on that island which had a two teacher school. The decline of 35 per cent in the population of the islands between 1961 and 1991 is a terrible indictment of us all, regardless of our political persuasion. If this trend is allowed to continue what will be the story in another 30 years? How many islands will still be inhabited at that stage? Very few of them will be inhabited if the present trend continues.

It is timely, appropriate and proper that we are discussing this framework report for the development of the islands in the years ahead which will help to halt the drastic decline in population and, hopefully, reverse it. This can only be achieved with the co-operation of all the relevant agencies and Departments and the people of the islands who have a better understanding of their difficulties than anyone else. At long last these difficulties will be dealt with in a meaningful way, thereby halting the decline in population and ensuring that this valuable part of our cultural heritage is not lost. It should be remembered that the islands were inhabited before the mainland. For example, the ruins of round towers, monasteries and other archaeological sites on Tory Island prove that it was inhabited before the green lands of Donegal. The same can be said of the Aran Islands where Dun Aengus, a pre-Christian archaeological site, can still be seen. We will have to bear the guilt if any more islands become depopulated.

In spite of the decline in population much progress has been made in developing the beautiful island of Árainn Mhór. For example, it has a good education system and an excellent comhar chumann which is very committed to the development of the island. I remember visiting Arranmore Island as a newly elected Dáil Deputy and seeing the entire young population of that island from ten or 11 to 18 years of age leaving the island en masse every Sunday evening for the mainland, and their parents or relations would not see them again until the following Friday evening. Times have changed. Since then a secondary school has been opened on Arranmore Island. The Minister of State visited that school last Friday where he sampled the hospitality of the staff and met some of the children. It is a major step forward for Arranmore that the young people have primary and post-primary education facilities on the island and can get a full secondary education in their own environment among their own people. It is a great pity that when they finish their secondary education there is little or no employment for them on the island and they have to emigrate to the States, to England and elsewhere.

The island is now developing aquaculture. A beautiful holiday village is being built there and I am glad that the IFI, which is doing so much for Border areas, has shown an interest in Arranmore also. I hope the future will be brighter for the young people there and that they will not alone get their education on the island but will be able to spend their lives there.

Tory Island is one of the most historic islands off our coast with a civilisation going back to prehistoric times. At one time there were 370 people living there. Ten or 15 years ago the island population was at the point of extinction. Donegal County Council had decided to build houses on the mainland for the people of the island, but a few farsighted people established a co-operative and the decline was halted. The population was as low as 70, and today there are over 120 people on the island. They have a thriving school and last September I was glad to announce, through the good offices of the Minister for Education, a second teacher for the school. We are so used to hearing about primary schools losing schools and teachers. However, the trend on Tory has been reversed. They have a second teacher and there are 30 young children attending the school daily.

I would like to compliment the Minister of State. As the king himself said last Friday when we were there, if he is not remembered for anything else he will be remembered proudly by the people of Tory Island for his achievement in getting something for which the people of the island have been lobbying for the past 70 years, a pier and a harbour. Boats can go to Tory Island most days of the year, but there are many days on which they cannot land and have to turn back to the mainland. I was very proud a fortnight or three weeks ago when the Minister announced an allocation of £4.6 million for the provision of proper harbour facilities for the island. The people there have proved that they are worth it, and I am sure that when that facility is provided many people will have an opportunity to visit the island and see for themselves what is available there.

Ba mhaith liom dul ar aghaidh agus roinnt rudaí eile a rá. Tá áthas orm go raibh deis agam labhairt inniu ar an ábhar seo agus molaim an iarracht atá ins an leabhar seo — Framework for Action — agus is cinnte má chuirtear na moltaí seo i bhfeidhm go n-éireoidh níos fearr leis na hoileáin sna blianta amach romhainn ná mar d'éirigh leo sna blianta atá imithe thart.

Mr. Hughes

I congratulate Deputy McGinley on getting the £4.5 million. However, his work is not over. There will now be a very fine harbour on Tory Island, but the two harbours on the mainland are inadequate. Donegal may have to wait four or five years because it is the turn of Mayo to get the tranche of funds which may follow from this report. I am sure Deputy Ring will be looking for the £1 million for Clare Island.

I thank the Minister for his invitation to all Deputies across the board to attend this launch, albeit that it took place in Dublin. I say that pointedly because I regret that when the Minister for Health came to Mayo last Monday he broke precedent by not inviting all Deputies to attend the third launching of phase 2 of Castlebar Hospital, where £20 million is to be spent in the next few years. In fairness to the Minister, he took a cross-party view in issuing invitations.

I welcome the report, but not because of any earth-shattering recommendations proposed in it. It was conceived by Deputy Andrews over three years ago. The islanders welcomed the establishment of the interdepartmental co-ordinating committee and the publication of this report was awaited with anticipation.

As the map on the inside page shows, there is a large number of islands in my constituency of Mayo, many more than are shown — only the inhabited islands are depicted. It is well known that in Clew Bay alone there is an island for every day of the year. I have never tried to count them, nor would I wish to. One of those islands, now uninhabited, was purchased by John Lennon of the Beatles and it was international news at the time that he intended to set up home in Clew Bay. Unfortunately, that plan never materialised and the island has only recently been resold.

Prior to the formation of the committee, islanders had seen their population base devastated by a continued and, in some instances, rapid decline, particularly in the economically active age groups, leaving them populated only by very young people and an increasingly dependent elderly population. For generations they have asked for improved access, special incentives and grants to preserve the population base, help and assistance to modernise fishing fleets, improvements in infrastructure, such as the provision of generating stations, ice plants, money for roads, help with the establishment of group water schemes and many other demands, some of which have been met and others which are still outstanding.

I acknowledge that good work has been done on the Galway islands. I am familiar with Inishmore, having been travelling to and from it for the past 25 years. In later years good work has also been done on the Mayo islands. This is an opportunity to look at the future needs of those islands. I welcome the publication of the report as a reference point to work to for the future. I welcome particularly the commitment to review progress each year.

I am pleased that the committee will be in existence for three years. Much can be achieved in that time if there is the political will to do so. Problems unique to island living and the action necessary to stabilise population loss are well known and I do not congratulate those involved with the report for identifying them. I do not share the Minister's confidence that publication of this long awaited report will mean a new beginning to countenance the decline in the population on offshore islands. I accept that a co-ordinating body with finance and muscle could revitalise and help ensure the long-term viability of many islands.

The report was welcomed by Comhdháil Óileáin na hÉireann and other bodies and I hope their confidence will be justified. The euphoria created by spin doctors and handlers which surrounds the publication of any report ensures a successful launch. Adverse comment is not entertained and the Government briefing is upbeat and full of promise. Media commentators reporting on local radio or in the newspapers will uncritically regurgitate the main details of the press briefing and all will be rosy in the garden. This is the first time that the contents of the report have been analysed in detail.

The report is long on generalities and short on specifics. To describe it as a breakthrough for island communities is an abuse and misuse of the English language. Unless maritime county councils commit financial resources to the already identified infrastructural problems there will not be a breakthrough for island communities and the fragile thread which enables them to hold on to a way of life, increasingly under pressure from the attractiveness of relocating to the mainland, will be broken.

With the exception of Inis Mór which enjoys a booming tourist trade, all islands have suffered a dramatic drop in population. Inis Mór and Arranmore off Donegal have the largest populations. For islands with a small population the decline has exceeded the overall average by a factor of nearly 100 per cent. If we take the group of islands referred to on page 65 the average fall in population over 30 years is 35 per cent. There are variations in that from a fall of 97 per cent on Inishbofin to 8 per cent on Sherkin Island. Islands with a population of 50 or 100 people show the most dramatic drop in population and their survival is under threat. If the trend continues for another 30 years most islands will be uninhabited.

Following my proposal, Mayo County Council set up an islands subcommittee. Before that the council, with the assistance of various State agencies, carried out improvements to most main offshore islands. Three other maritime county councils have such committees and they allow for a focused approach in responding to the priority needs identified at meetings by the representatives of the islanders. The framework established by the report follows on from the precedent set by Mayo County Council and adopted by other councils.

The Cork island study was referred to. We meet islanders several times during the year and, having regard to our responsibilities as councillors and limited resources, we respond to their needs as best we can. In the past two years we worked successfully with Leader I and received funding which enabled us provide excellent facilities.

The report states that access is of critical importance to the future development of the islands. Non-Gaeltacht islands have been discriminated against in the provision of funding on the capital and current sides. I welcome the fact that Gaeltacht islands enjoy a subsidy, the free travel scheme, aeroplane access and support for setting up airstrips. I hope that will continue but other islands should be given equal treatment. The annual subsidy on the current side, including the cost of ferries and the Aer Arann subsidy, amounts to £800 per inhabitant on the three islands that receive the subsidy. That is a large sum and should be given to other islands where it is possible to provide a ferry or airline service of the same standard.

I cannot equate a policy of transport subsidy, which is discriminatory, with preservation of the Irish language. The people on Clare Island and Innisturk are as deserving of financial help in transporting materials and foodstuffs to their islands as a Gaeltacht island. They are just as entitled to have a reasonable charge imposed on them to transport their livestock to the mainland as any other island. In 1994 the cost of living survey carried out on six islands with the co-operation of representatives of Comhdháil Óileán na hÉireann showed that a basket of 23 common food items purchased on a weekly basis cost 16.6 per cent more on the islands than on the mainland. A family who wish to build a house must transport all building materials to the islands and the disadvantage in price is 52.1 per cent. One can see the need for a transport subsidy to be given to all islanders.

The challenge is to halt the downward spiral in population migration to the mainland. Throughout the report reference is made to such aspirations and verbiage as "consultations"; "drawing up priority lists"; "review plans"; "explore fully"; "pay special attention"; "review existing responses"; "identify improvements"; "develop policy" and "examine potential". The report is a way forward but I am looking for commitments. What is needed from all sides of this House is not to pay lip-service to a unique part of our heritage worth preserving, but to commit financial assistance and support at an accelerated rate, particularly when the economy is returning record amounts of revenue to the Exchequer.

Mr. Connaughton

I share the view of Deputies about the future of those living on the islands, which are of great social, cultural and historical significance. Although I do not represent the islands, it is vitally important that we do everything we can to keep people in situ. No matter how much we consider this or previous reports, we will be judged on whether we had the ability to make conditions attractive so that people want to live on the islands.

We must make it attractive for people to move and to stay on the islands and to travel to and from them. Something which has dogged all island communities over the years is their inability to travel to the mainland at various times of the year. One often hears people, particularly in Dublin, express romantic views about island life and there have been many documentaries about this over the years. That is all very well when one is sitting back watching island life on television, but it is a romantic view of the most austere conditions in which people must live. If one had to live on an island for six or eight months of the year with howling winds and snowstorms, that romantic view of island life would quickly evaporate. That is one of the main reasons people will not live on the islands.

According to the report, approximately 800 people live on the islands off our coast. If that figure decreases, we will face a considerable problem in that the island communities will not be able to regenerate themselves and the population will be an ageing one. The report highlights a number of issues and I hope the views expressed will be listened to over the coming years.

It is important that people are able to travel to and from the islands whenever they wish. However, it is expensive to provide air transport — the only form of transport that can be guaranteed, Aer Arann, provides that service in Galway. I make no apologies to anyone when I hear people talk about a subsidy to ensure that the inhabitants of the islands have access to the mainland. We must accept that people live on the islands and I congratulate those who established Aer Arann. The Aran Islands are a great attraction for tourists and this report states there is a great future for tourism on some of the islands. That is something which must be encouraged.

Despite the austere conditions in which island people must live, one would have assumed that in the era of technology jobs could be created on the islands which could not have been contemplated heretofore. Forbairt, the IDA, the county enterprise partnership boards or the county councils should be in a position to give an additional subsidy to potential employers who previously might have looked at Dublin, Galway or a town in Connacht before considering the islands. Because of that pecking order, there is little chance that an industrialist or a person who may create one or two jobs would want to go to the islands.

If we decide to give a subsidy for air and sea travel, then we must go a step further. We must make it attractive for people to try to create jobs in those areas, particularly in the tourism and craft sectors. It should be financially attractive for people to set up businesses on the islands. That is nothing new as such a system applied to the west in the 1970s. It worked well and many of the factories in the west came under that regime. If industrialists showed any signs that they might leave the richer eastern region, they were provided with a financial incentive to move to the west. There is nothing wrong in extending that to the islands.

Everybody knows how the Structural Fund operates as far as headage payments are concerned. I would like to make a plea today which I hope will not fall on deaf ears. If ever there was an area suitable for the super severely handicapped areas scheme, it is the islands, other parts of Connemara and Dingle. This is an ideal opportunity to ensure that we get a higher level of livestock payments through the super severely handicapped areas scheme, which had been spoken about for long enough in Brussels. I mentioned this to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Deputy Yates, on a number of occasions and I know he is very involved, as is Deputy Carey, the Minister with responsibility for the west. Between the two of them, I hope there will be an announcement in this regard.

A few months ago an important decision was made in the budget in relation to the REP scheme as far as it relates to recipients of social welfare. That is of major benefit to people living on our islands. There will be a disregard of £2,000 on REPs payments for social welfare purposes. That is a very important factor because the low acreage on the islands means the people must rely on social welfare for nine months of the year. It is extremely important that we get that message across. The REP scheme will also benefit tourism on the islands. The Minister of State, Deputy Durkan, had a great input to this scheme, which should be better publicised.

The report states that the islands committee will be given responsibility under the Leader II programme. That will provide an opportunity for local interests to come together. Unlike previously when there was insufficient money to set up projects, the position is now changed and, while islanders may argue that there is still not enough money, there is provision for local development.

It is important that there is co-ordination between the State agencies that have an input into the daily lives of islanders. One of the great problems down the years has been access to the islands — it was not always easy to get a doctor or nurse to the islands. Such problems obviously influence people in deciding whether to live and rear their families on the islands. This project will be costly on the Exchequer but it will improve the social and cultural life on the islands.

There is great vitality on the islands. I am not an expert on this matter, but islanders are beginning to believe that with better access and new technology, it will be possible to make a better livelihood. At the end of the day what matters is money. Some people believe that I am being crude in adopting that attitude and that there are other aspects of island life that are important, but if people do not earn a decent living they will leave the islands — I make no apology for saying that. With better opportunities and improved access to the islands a greater number of people will remain there. In providing the various services, my colleague, Deputy Carey, has taken on board the views and aspirations of islanders.

With greater co-ordination it will be possible to stabilise the population of the islands. I would like to see a dramatic increase in the population of islands, but I do not think that will happen. There are many areas on the mainland in rural Ireland where there is a great decline in the population. It would, therefore, be unreasonable to think that as a result of this measure there will be a huge increase in the population of the islands. It will be a good day's work if we succeed in stabilising the present population. If we address the impediments to progress and make life easier for the islanders they will respond positively. The uniqueness of the islands is a great advantage, particularly in terms of tourism. If the necessary services are put in place islanders will be able to play a much greater role in attracting tourists.

I highly commend this report and hope its aspirations become a reality. I am sure that on review of the first year of the project progress will have been made and it will be considered a good development.

Mr. M. Kitt

Tá an Tuarascáil seo antábhachtach do mhuintir na nOileán agus ba mhaith liom ar an gcéad dul síos comhghairdeas a ghabháil leis an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Carey. Tá sé tar éis cuairt a thabhairt ar fhurmhór na nOileán agus tá súil agam go dtabharfaidh sé cuairt ar na hoileáin eile.

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I join other speakers in congratulating the Minister of State, Deputy Carey, on his work in this area. Yesterday he said that the former Minister, Tom O'Donnell, initiated the first flights from Aer Arann but, while not wishing to take from Tom O'Donnell's role in attracting investment by Gaeltarra Éireann in the Aran Islands in 1973, he departed a little from that view today when he said that he acknowledges the role played by Deputy Molloy in 1970 in initiating a proposal for an air service to the Aran Islands.

In 1970 my late father, who was Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Gaeltacht, was on the first flight to the Aran Islands. As Deputy Molloy will confirm, weather conditions got so bad that day that the return flight was cancelled. That gives an indication of the problem of access to the islands. Even though improvements have been made since that time, with better aircraft and so on, access is still a major problem.

Recently a person from the Aran Islands who is a great supporter of Galway United soccer team outlined the difficulties he experiences in travelling to see the team. If a match is held in Galway city on Saturday evening or there is an away match, it is not possible for him to return to the island on the same day. That example highlights the problems faced by a sports fan who wishes to follow his team. Access to the islands is a major issue and I am not sure the Minister of State highlighted it sufficiently.

The declining population of the islands is of concern. We know only 21 islands are inhabited and that is the first indication that the population of the islands has fallen. It is indicative of what is happening in the western region. Recent figures published by the western development partnership board suggest that only 7 per cent of the population live in the north west while 41 per cent live in the eastern counties. There is a big shift in population movement from the western region to the major cities, particularly Galway. A major challenge is posed to Government to stabilise the position on the islands by maintaining the present population and providing whatever investment is possible.

Account must be taken of the cost of improving access to the islands. Business people and householders find the cost of house building materials and housing refurbishment expensive. I was disappointed that the Minister of State did not refer to housing. Galway County Council has encountered difficulties in acquiring housing sites. It is difficult to purchase a site for a house. The council is doing its best to acquire sites but the difficulties involved are compounded for people who wish to build their own houses. In the past an exemption applied in respect of registered contractors and I hope it still does. Any assistance from the Department or Údarás na Gaeltachta to Gaeltacht islands in that regard must be welcomed. The bottom line is that the £1 million allocation is welcome, but it is not enough. The full allocation could be spent on the Aran Islands alone, to provide houses, and water and sewerage schemes. The largest of the Aran islands, Inishmore, is a popular island for tourists and even though I am a Galway man I classify myself as a tourist when I visit that island. The basic infrastructural facilities sought by islanders must be provided by the Government. If the necessary funding is provided it will give a great boost to the tourism industry, a major one on the islands.

The Minister of State did not refer to the health services in detail although he may have mentioned them in passing. The provision of adequate health services for islanders must be addressed. I am aware many initiatives have been taken in the Western Health Board area to improve services. The introduction of Aer Arann in particular has meant that doctors, nurses, dentists and other health service providers have been able to travel to islands quickly. I was very pleased three weeks ago to see that Galway University College Hospital has a video link up with Inishmore. It was inaugurated by the Minister for Art, Culture and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Higgins. People on the islands can link up in a private and confidential way with members of the medical profession in the hospital. It is a welcome development and I hope the service will be extended to other islands.

The Minister of State did not refer to the new Teilifís na Gaeilge also inaugurated by the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht. Although that station may broadcast for only two or three hours initially, I hope some of its broadcast time will be dedicated to health services. I envisage this type of consultation between a doctor in Galway city and an islander will be further developed.

If we had sufficient money, the ideal solution would be for islands to have resident doctors. Only a number of islands have a resident doctor. I understand that in general, GP services are provided by doctors from the mainland who visit the islands on routine calls, as requested or when the islanders visit a doctor's surgery on the mainland. More money would provide the solution to improving health services and I hope more funding will be provided. A good public health nursing service is provided on the islands. Islanders want reasonable access to health services and I hope that can be provided.

The elderly and school children form a high proportion of the population on the islands. That has major implications for health service providers, the Western Health Board in the case of Galway. I am aware that in County Mayo Dr. Cowley has promoted the idea of the air and sea rescue ambulance. That idea deserves support and consideration. While a helicopter service can be called when needed, it was pointed out by the committee that in many cases there is not an appropriate place for a helicopter to land. The provision of dedicated helipads would improve delivery of the service.

Another issue is the need to co-ordinate this health service with other services. During Question Time yesterday, the leader of my party, Deputy Ahern, referred to the need for a single agency and although the Minister of State may have dismissed that idea yesterday, he should reconsider it. The health services to which I referred are only one aspect of the problems faced by islanders. There are many other areas to which I could refer. I stress the need to improve the health services for the islands and to consider the needs of the elderly and children who form a high proportion of the population on the islands.

I hope the Minister of State will consult islanders on these issues and the health boards will examine the potential for developing services. Available technology should be used as in the case of the video link-up with an island community provided by the Western Health Board. Local authorities must also consider what assistance they can provide to islanders whether through the provision of houses or badly needed water and sewerage schemes on which no doubt the Minister will liaise with health boards and local authorities.

There has been much recent discussion on providing access for the disabled to public buildings and other areas. Deputy Mary Wallace recently introduced a Private Members' Bill on voting facilities for them. Whenever and wherever landing sites are being provided for air or sea transport, access much be provided for the disabled.

The Minister has stated that the income limit for eligibility for grants for students from remote areas attending boarding schools are being brought into line with those applicable to third level maintenance grants. I asked the Minister yesterday whether this increased limit would ensure that all island students would be eligible for such grants, to which I think he replied in the affirmative. No doubt the Minister will correct me if I am wrong but I have since heard there may be a number of children who will not qualify even under the raised limit. I should like the Minister to check out those facts because there should not be any limit imposed on such students.

Those grants originally formed part of the school transport scheme. Since it is sufficient trauma for island children to have to leave home, they and their parents should not be subjected to this further hardship. Major anomalies have been identified in the overall school transport scheme. Bearing in mind the small number of island pupils involved, such limits should be totally abolished, affording all island children an opportunity of obtaining grants and attending boarding school.

The Minister referred to the REP scheme which is trotted out here daily, as it was yesterday when we were discussing biological diversity and it was advocated in the preservation of our flora and fauna. Deputy Connaughton made the point that henceforth the first £2,000 of income under the REP scheme will be disregarded for social welfare purposes. While that amelioration is to be welcomed, more money needs to be allocated to the funding of this scheme. Certainly, if it is to be extended to biological diversity and to island applicants, more money must be provided.

While claiming that applicants under the REP scheme are being paid, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry has informed us that he will endeavour to obtain funding from some other source. Although I have not yet heard the source of such funding, it is crucial that it be forthcoming since it would be of enormous benefit to Connemara and the west generally. Despite our best efforts to obtain information on the allocation of funding, it has not been forthcoming from the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, another matter I hope the Minister of State will have investigated.

I welcome the inclusion of Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann and County Galway in the Leader II programme, thus ensuring that all islands benefit from its provisions. While the Leader programme has been described as a last resort for applicants seeking funding for community development projects, it is of particular benefit to tourism. When replying the Minister might elaborate on how islanders will fare under Leader II.

I hope new technology will be deployed to provide new opportunities for island communities whether by way of computers, video or television links. Not so long ago the one-teacher school received the great bonus of having a telephone installed. This is a most important development, affording that one teacher a link with parents, doctors and others whenever an emergency arises at school. If we can utilise these great advances in technology for the benefit of island communities we shall have done a good day's work.

Although more money is not always the answer to all problems, I hope the Minister of State will be able to obtain greater funding since the £1 million could be expended on the Galway islands alone.

Mr. Nealon

I compliment the Minister of State on having finally published this report of the Interdepartmental Co-ordinating Committee on Island Development of which he is chairman.

In his contribution the Minister emphasised the islands' contribution to Irish life in cultural, historic and linguistic terms, to which all of us would subscribe. All of us have a certain romantic attachment to the islands, accepting that their special inheritance and way of life needs to be cherished and valued.

The publication of this report, following long delays, is a mark of progress, a clear-cut acknowledgment of the many problems. It provides a focus for discussion and can be a turning point for the still inhabited islands if its recommendations are implemented and, most important of all, its projects properly funded. There, I am afraid, I must end my complimentary remarks about the Minister of State and his report.

Located at the mouth of Sligo Bay is the beautiful Coney Island which featured elaborately this week in "Ireland of the Welcomes". Its circumference is 1.5 miles by 0.75 miles. When I speak of Coney Island the House will readily appreciate I am not talking about a few rocks protruding from the sea. There is no bridge, causeway or road linking Coney Island with the mainland. It is an inhabited island, not privately-owned. In other words, it fulfils all the criteria for consideration in this report and its recommendations, yet Coney Island appears to have vanished into clear air, like Hy-Brasil, from the interdepartmental report. It is not listed in Appendix I among inhabited offshore islands nor does it feature in the illustration on the obverse side of the cover showing all the other 21 islands. Apparently Sligo Bay is devoid of anything remotely like an island; there is no mention of it anywhere.

I warn the Minister of State that Coney Island has a way of hitting back, of getting even with people. When St. Patrick visited the island he clashed with an old pagan woman called Stoner who, disapproving of his presence, took unilateral action and served him cooked cat instead of rabbit. The lore does not say what this did to St. Patrick's digestion but it does say that he lost a tooth in the process and if anyone cares to check they can cross the courtyard into the National Museum where they will find the tooth of St. Patrick among the Christian artefacts. Having omitted Coney Island from the islands that qualify under all the criteria. I advise Deputy Carey to be very careful when he is dining out in the Sligo area.

Miss Coughlan

I hope the Minister has all his teeth.

Mr. Carey

I was dining out there the other evening.

Mr. Nealon

St. Patrick did something positive. He promised the people of Coney Island that the tides would always allow them to get to Mass on the mainland with dry feet. Ironically, possibly the reason Coney Island is not featured in this report is that if you know the tides and various other features you can at certain times, drive across one and a half miles of foreshore to get to the island. It is outrageous if this tenuous link excludes Coney Island from funding. The status of Coney Island should be changed immediately and I have no doubt the Minister of State will do that.

The population of Coney Island has also declined dramatically from approximately 140 in the late 1880s to two inhabited houses today. However, there are 11 habitable houses on the island and a public house which opens periodically in the summer. The summer population is 30 or more and it is the belief that many people who came from the island originally would settle permanently there if they had reasonable services. The most important of all the facilities needed is electricity. There were proposals some years ago to erect pylons and overhead cables to provide a power supply to the island but this was rejected. This is one of the great panoramic views in the west. If you are coming in by plane to Sligo Airport at nearby Strandhill, you will first see Lough Gill and the Isle of Innisfree, in the distance Glencar lake with its waterfall, further on to the right the bare head of Benbulbin, on the left Queen Mave's cairn, in the distance the Ox and the Donegal mountains, in the bay Coney and Inishmuray islands and on a clear day the woods of Lissadell. The ESB wanted to erect a row of pylons amidst this beauty, naturally we all resisted it and the board did not proceed with the idea. That should not mean the island is left without electricity, which is the vital key to its future. It can be brought in by underground cable at a relatively modest cost when the advantages to the island are realised. The nearest existing service point is a relatively short distance away. Will the Minister take immediate action to ensure that the island gets electricity as that is the single most important thing he can do for Coney Island?

In the report the emphasis has been on access. One can reach Coney Island by boat from the Rosses Point side or at low tide one can drive to it from Strandhill. There is considerable scope for improving access to the island although of its nature access to the island will be difficult. Will the Minister grant aid a feasibility study by Sligo County Council, the relevant local authority, on the improvements that can be carried out and some measures that have been clearly identified by the people living on the island? Relatively simple work can be carried out that would not make a huge dent in the Minister's budget. Will the Minister redirect a modest amount to kick-start development on Coney Island as it has enormous tourism potential and would constitute a major attraction in the Sligo area? However, facilities such as access and electricity need to be improved and the postal service which was suspended three years ago would have to be resumed.

Plans for future development have been drawn up by the islanders. They have some excellent ideas on tourism and craft work, the restoration of old buildings and technologically based industries. For such industries it does not matter whether you are on the island or on the mainland. Coney Island has got off to a bad start but it is now up to the Minister of State. Deputy Carey to take action.

The report provides a framework and a focus for the islands, a blueprint for action. The Minister of State, Deputy Carey, can take action and it is now up to him to get the funding. The heamorrhage of people and the damage down through the years cannot be reversed but the Minister can give the island a chance and above all give it hope. The report focuses on the islands, if it is acted upon it will make a difference and the Minister will deserve the gratitude of future generations.

When the last residents were leaving Gola Island, off the Donegal coast I made a television programme recording it which I hope is in the RTE archive. It was a very sad occasion, I hope that will never happen to Coney Island but that clearly is in the hands of the Minister of State, Deputy Carey.

Miss Coughlan

Fáiltím go mór roimh an Tuarascáil atá os ár gcomhair agus go mór mhór roimh an díospóireacht atá againn inniu ar na hoileáin. Déanaim comghairdeas leis an Aire Stáit as an sár-obair a rinne seisean agus gach éinne eile a bhí ceangailte leis an Tuarascáil.

Maidir leis na hoileáin ar chósta na hÉireann ar a bhfuil cónaí ar dhaoine go buan caithfimid ceist a chur orainn féin caidé go díreach ar mhaith linn go dtarlódh dóibh.

Ar mhaith linn go dtiocfadh deireadh leo faoi mar a tharla do Ghabhla nuair a druideadh na tithe agus tugadh tithe do na daoine ar an mórthír agus ligeadh do shaol an oileáin bás a fháil? Chuir sin deireadh tobann le traidisiún, cultúr agus seanchas an oileáin sin.

An é sin an deireadh a ba mhaith linn a fheiceáil ar na hoileáin eile? Nár mhór an trua agus nár bhocht an rud é dá mbeadh muintir na hÉireann i gceann daichead bliain ón am seo ag rá gur lig muidne do na hoileáin seo bás a fháil? Sílim go bhfuil sé riachtanach againn saol na n-oileán a chaomhnú agus a chothú ar son an chultúir, an traidisiúin agus ar son na Gaeilge atá ar mhórán acu, gan trácht ar na daoine féin.

Mar shampla, le hairgead a dhéanamh ar iascaireacht tá gá le báid mhóra agus ar ndóigh le céanna. Ní féidir le hiascairí a mbeatha a shaothrú le báid bheaga ag iascaireacht thart fá chladach oileáin.

Mar sin cuirim fáilte roimh an doiciméad seo agus roimh na moltaí atá ann. Ach is í an áis is tábhachtaí agus is riachtanaí ná córas iompair. Tá gach rud eile agus saol na n-oileán ag brath ar a bheith ábalta fáil isteach agus amach gan deacracht — rud an-simplí ach a chosnaíonn go leor airgid.

Tá gá mór le báid farantóireachta agus le céanna maithe. Ag caint air seo ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an £4,000 do ché nua ar Oileán Thoraigh. Tá aithne agam ar mhuintir an oileáin sin agus nuair a fhaigheann siad cúpla punt bíonn níos mó á lorg acu. Mar sin tá súil agam anois go mbeidh an tAire Stáit ábalta aerstraice a thabhairt dóibh. Sin rud eile a bhí ar an liosta acu.

Beidh Machaire Rabhartaigh agus Bun Beag ag iarraidh cúpla punt a fháil fosta. Ansin beidh muintir Ailt a' Chorráin ag gearáin. Sin mar atá ach tá tús maith ar aon nós déanta leis an gcé nua ar Oileán Thoraigh.

Tá gá an-mhór fosta le córas héileacaptair. Ní mórán cabhair iad seo gan bóithre maithe ag gabháil leo. Córas maith taistil an chéad rud a chaithfear a sholáthar má tá muid i ndáiríre faoi seo.

Chun seo a dhéanamh tá sé riachtanach go leanfaí an moladh atá sa doiciméad seo — sé sin go dtiocfadh iomlán coistí agus comhairlí agus údaráis chuí le cheile gan mhoill chun plean oibre a chur le chéile. Ach an rud is tábhachtaí ar fad ná go gcuirfeadh an Rialtas agus an tAire Stáit an t-airgead ar fáil. Nuair a bheidh tús curtha le córas iompair is féidir ansin pleananna a dhéanamh faoi thurasóireacht, córais uisce agus séarachais, scoileanna, fostaíocht, iascaireacht agus mar sin de.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this report which was awaited by those of us who represent constituencies with islands. I listened with interest to the debate. The Minister of State is acutely aware of the needs of the islands because when he had the opportunity to visit Donegal recently he took it upon himself to visit Oilean Torí and Oilean Aranmór. We must not forget Inishbofin and Inisfree. This report addresses the problems of four islands. Several years ago an islands committee was set up in Donegal on the initiative of county councillors. Members of the committee have been awaiting this report and look forward to working with Comhdáil na nOileán, Údarás na Gaeltachta, FÁS, the vocational education committee etc. to develop a proper plan and a strategic approach to the islands in their area. I look forward to that and I hope we will all have an input into it.

A number of basic issues must be addressed but it will be expensive to solve them. Unless they are addressed we cannot speak of other economic benefits for people on the islands. I read with interest in the report that recommendations will be implemented if the money is available but if not other options will have to be looked at. That is a more sensible approach. Some people think they should have everything that is available on the mainland. I do not agree. Everyone should have basic services such as water and séarachas and they should have an income but they are also unique. Their uniqueness, tradition, music and language needs to be cherished to make them different, to give them that little extra. I read with interest what the Minister had to say, that we should enable islanders to participate fully in the economic and social life of the nation through sustainable economic activity. He prefaced that remark by saying that naturally they could not have everything that one can have on the tír mór.

We also need to look at many other needs of island people. I regret that many councils aided and abetted people to leave the islands by saying they would provide proper housing for them, instead of providing small houses on the islands. That policy is changing in Donegal County Council. We had houses built on Tory Island — I am sure the Minister saw them during his recent visit — at considerable expense. That type of positive discrimination towards islanders is needed. The infrastructural needs of islands are obvious and an effort will have to be made to provide them.

Access by sea and air is vital if we are to address the health needs of islanders. Access to an emergency service, particularly during the winter months, is vitally important. Winter months on the islands are not the same as winter months in Dublin. In winter islanders have to cope with storms, no electricity and no access for several weeks, if not months, to the mainland. We need to look at the access to emergency services. An emergency service should be based in Donegal for the Donegal islands and in Galway or Mayo for the islands off the coast there. In the event of an accident or serious illness access to Leterkenny General Hospital or Sligo General Hospital would be required.

I wish to address the issue of education, an area in which I have an interest. Some islands are not as fortunate as we were in Aranmore where we worked with the parents. It was a tough struggle to convince the Department of Education of the need to provide a second level school. Donegal vocational education committee persevered and we had a couple of rough elections. There was a boycott because they did not get their school but the people stood fast and got what they deserved, given that the boarding schools had closed. It was difficult to get to and from the island because the ferry service was not as good at that time. Parents were worried about the safety of their children. When the boarding school closed, the children were boarded out and parents were concerned as to whether the children were behaving themselves. Fortunately, there was a sufficient number of children on Aranmore Island to justify a small school. This school is a credit to the people of Aranmore Island who support it. They have a beautiful building and excellent teachers who are totally dedicated to the educational needs of the children on the island. This has enthused and given life to that island.

A debate is taking place on Aranmore regarding the amalgamation of the two schools. I note the Minister for Education has indicated she will allocate money towards that amalgamation. I would like to know if that is correct because the people on the island have not agreed to an amalgamation. Until such time as the parents and teachers agree that there is a need to amalgamate, it would be wrong of the Minister to make any decision without first consulting the people on both sides of the island who stand firm on their individuality. Splitting an island community is not the best way forward. I realise the Minister of State is doing his best to encourage people to work together and to ensure that island people have some type of solidarity.

The White Paper is mentioned in the report, which recommends that an islander should be a member of the educational boards. I do not have any problem with that suggestion although I am not in favour of regional education boards. A regional education board covering the large area of Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim, which has been referred to in the White Paper and by the Minister for Education, will not meet the needs of the small Gaeltacht or island communities. It would be more preferable to have such a board based in County Donegal.

Money should not be allocated to bureaucratic structures which will not be of any educational benefit to certain areas. I am sure the Minister has been lobbied by people from the Gaeltacht regions on the need to base the regional structure in the Gaeltacht, which would include the islands. It is important that the islands are represented on such a body and it would give a different perspective to the educational needs of islanders.

Some of my colleagues referred to distance learning, access to computers, etc. These are vital needs for people living on islands. Distance education has not been well developed in Ireland as a whole but the provision of computer systems for primary and secondary schools as well as adult education is vital. Open University type courses should be provided for people living on islands who, because of distance and time, cannot travel to a regional technical college two or three times a week. I welcome the debate on this issue and I hope the Higher Education Authority will examine the possibility of providing computers for people who wish to avail of distance education.

All people should have access to information technology, particularly young children living on islands. Unfortunately, island schools do not have the same resources as, say, a large primary school in south County Dublin which can afford to buy its own computers. Perhaps the Minister of State would make representations to his colleague, the Minister for Finance, with regard to making grant aid available to small island schools to ensure they have access to computer technology.

Agriculture and fishing are the two traditional ways of earning a living on an island but fishing is no longer a viable source of income for islanders.

Aquaculture is a possible alternative employment for islanders and in that regard I hope Údarás na Gaeltachta will ensure that islanders, and not large companies, benefit from any developments in that area. Islanders and perhaps co-operative movements should be given funding and all other necessary assistance to provide an income for themselves.

I welcome the suggestion in the report that the Department of the Marine, BIM and Údarás na Gaeltachta, together with Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann, should assess the viability of aquaculture. There is a reference also to developing seaweed enterprises which are quite successful in County Donegal. These recommendations are sensible but it is unrealistic for small fishermen to compete with large trawlers operating out of ports such as Burtonport and Killybegs. Island people, unfortunately, do not have opportunities to accrue wealth so it is vital to ensure they benefit from any aquaculture development on the islands.

Tourism is a new source of income for the islands. Many people, particularly foreign tourists, enjoy visiting islands and the freedom to wander around in safety. Bord Fáilte, unfortunately, does not feel it necessary to provide grant aid for the upgrading of tourist accommodation facilities. There must be a change of policy in that regard if we are to ensure that such facilities are provided. I know this area will be developed under Leader but Bord Fáilte will have to review its policies to take account of the real needs of tourism development.

We must ensure also that training programmes are made available to islanders, particularly through FÁS or CERT, in addition to marketing courses and perhaps an overall course in tourism skills. That is absolutely necessary if we expect people to provide such services to tourists. They must also be given the necessary resources to upgrade their facilities, otherwise they are fighting a losing battle. The islands are unique and they should be marketed as such but that can only be done if we ensure that proper ferry and air services are available.

I welcome the report and I hope the strategic framework for the development of the offshore islands will soon be forthcoming. I hope the Minister can convince his colleagues, particularly the Minister for Finance, that proper resources are needed for the islands by way of infrastructure, access, education, etc. Otherwise, the work that he and his predecessor have done in bringing the island people together will be wasted. I sincerely hope that ten or 15 years from now we will not be facing the problem of people leaving our islands, as hapened on Gola Island.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (Mr. Deenihan)

I thank Deputy Coughlan for her positive approach to this report. Some of her colleagues were less than generous in their comments, particularly with regard to the efforts of the Minister of State, Deputy Carey, as well as the contents of the report.

I very much welcome the publication of the report of the Interdepartmental Co-Ordinating Committee on Island Development and I would like to compliment my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Carey, for bringing forward the report and for the comprehensive manner in which the committee, which he chaired, has dealt with island issues. I wholeheartedly support the recommendations and I will make every effort to ensure they are implemented as quickly as possible.

As Minister with responsibility for rural development, I am aware of the challenges facing rural communities and of the efforts they are making to secure their future. Many rural areas face serious economic and social problems characterised by population decline, including a drift from the land, small scale and low income farming in some cases, as well as underemployment and unemployment resulting from a shortage of off-farm alternative job opportunities.

There is an acute awareness of rural communities who demonstrate a willingness and determination to tackle the problems and to play a meaningful role in determining their future. That applies equally to our island communities. However, given their peripheral location, population size and limitations on economic activity because of lack of economies of scale, the challenges there are all the more acute.

The interdepartmental committee's report takes full account of these conditions and sets out a strategic framework for future development. The issues of access, infrastructure, education, health services, sectoral investment and local development have all been examined in a comprehensive and systematic manner by the committee, and the recommendations which have been endorsed by Government will make a major contribution to the quality of life of island communities. The report, is not an end in itself and the work of the interdepartmental committee will continue under the Minister's chairmanship in order to implement the various recommendations and, no doubt, to examine and discuss the on-going developments on the islands.

The interdepartmental committee's report is a comprehensive and strategic one but I intend to concentrate on issues which relate to the contribution my Department can make to island development, that is, agriculture related issues and the Leader programme.

In so far as agriculture is concerned, the report acknowledges the difficulties island farmers face in terms of the land quality and small size of holdings. In addition, there is the problem and cost associated with the transportation of farming inputs, livestock and farm produce. Nevertheless, a number of useful recommendations have been made which can improve significantly the incomes of farmers in both mainstream and alternative enterprises.

One of the keys to improvement, on the islands and in many rural areas, is in the provision of effective and supportive training and advisory services. The report recommends that Teagasc assesses the additional skills island farmers require to maximise the potential of their holdings and I will ask Teagasc to undertake this task and to offer every assistance possible to island farmers. This will include examination of the recommendation on promoting a group approach to production and marketing and the possibility of developing a brand image for island produce. This latter point is an idea which the Leader programme on the island might also address.

Annual payments to island farmers under the various premium and disadvantaged areas headage schemes amount to about £750,000. All islands are currently classified as "More Severely Handicapped" for headage payments purposes. European Union approval is being sought for a new classification of "Extremely Disadvantaged" and it is proposed to include all inhabited islands in this category. Under this category, it will be possible to increase headage payments above the amounts currently paid in "More Severely Handicapped" areas. Precise details have yet to be established but I am sure this departure will be welcomed by island communities.

It is widely recognised that REPS is ideally suited to the type of farming practised on our offshore islands, i.e. extensive farming. With this in mind I am obviously keen to ensure that the take up of REPS on the islands will be significant. I recognise, however, that island farmers have met difficulties in their efforts to join REPS. However, I must also recognise that substantial progress has been made in this regard and I, together with Department officials, will work to ensure that REPS is as available on the islands as it is on the mainland.

Deputy Ó Cuív was critical of the REPS programme for island communities. I suggest that the Deputy encourage the island communities to become involved in REPS because it is ideally suited to island communities, especially given the new specification changes we introduced to suit the islands. I hope there is a greater take up of the REPS scheme by the island communities so as to capitalise on its benefits.

It was represented to me that the lack of an exemption of REPS payments from the means test for unemployment assistance was providing a barrier to REPS participation in many areas, including the islands. Following prolonged discussion on this with the Departments of Finance and Social Welfare I was delighted that the Minister for Finance, in the 1996 budget, introduced an exemption of the first £2,000 of a REPS payment from the means test for unemployment assistance. This exemption is, of course, in addition to the offset of costs incurred in complying with REPS measures. This concession goes a long way to meeting the recommendation made in the committee's report. I am confident this exemption will make REPS more available in many western areas in particular and I am sure it will be equally welcome among island farmers.

As the House is probably aware many offshore islands are designated as degraded areas under REPS i.e. areas where overgrazing, by sheep in particular, is a problem. Obviously this is a problem REPS is seeking to address and to this end my Department, in late 1995, succeeded in obtaining the approval of the European Commission to a revised system of incentives under REPS in degraded areas. The revised incentives are substantially more generous and, indeed, more flexible than the original measure which applied and should contribute significantly towards overcoming this serious environmental problem. A particularly attractive element of the improved incentives is the introduction of a group incentive triggered where two or more of the shareholders in a designated commonage who, taken together, own more than 50 per cent of the sheep on the commonage join REPS, then the group incentive of an additional £12 per acre is available to all shareholders in the commonage who join REPS, including any already in the scheme.

I am also aware from representatives from Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann and the farm organisations that the provision of REPS planning services has been something of a problem for island farmers. My Department raised this matter with both Teagasc and the private planning agencies and I hope that, as a result, planning services will be more available to island farmers. A group approach to planners would be beneficial and would reduce the cost of plans. My Department is anxious to encourage the island farming communities to participate in REPS and will facilitate them to ensure this innovative and very worthwhile scheme is fully taken up by island farmers. Indeed, I recently indicated my willingness to visit the islands with a view to assessing the problems on the ground and to help in any way I can. I intend to visit a number of islands in the summer.

I have referred already to the problems of transporting animals between the islands and the mainland. A related issue is the need for improvements in the facilities at piers and quays in terms of, for example, holding pens. This is an issue the report recommends should be addressed in consultation with the local authorities and I will ask my officials and Teagasc to co-operate fully in examining the situation.

Rural tourism can make a significant contribution to job and income creation in many rural areas and the islands have additional potential in this regard, being a particular attraction for visitors. A number of important projects were grant aided on the islands under the Agritourism scheme under the Operational Programme for Rural Development, 1989-94. I hope the success of the projects and the availability of funding under the current scheme will encourage islanders to invest further in tourist facilities and attractions. The Leader programme also provides funding for rural tourism projects and I am confident that the work of the approved Leader group, Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann, to which I will refer in a moment, will contribute to the development of the island tourism industry to the benefit of the economy of the islands.

Deputy Coughlan referred to accommodation and I totally agree with her statement. There is a grant aid provision of 20 per cent for this in the Leader programme where it is needed. It is desirable to have as much quality accommodation as possible in our island community to encourage people to visit and stay. Recognising that each island has its own particular characteristics and problems, the main thrust in the interdepartmental committee's report is that the islanders themselves are best placed to play the lead role in devising and implementing development strategies. The main role of the Government, therefore, is to create the conditions and facilitate development rather than involve itself in every aspect of island development. There is every indication that the island communities are more than willing to rise to this challenge.

The evidence is available from the island communities' participation in the pilot programme for integrated rural development implemented by my Department in the period 1988-90. That programme involved the appointment of a rural development "co-ordinator" to work with "core groups" of local activists in 12 rural areas, including the islands. Its purpose was to provide a catalyst and facilitate development by raising the awareness of communities about their needs and potential for development, identify priorities for action and work towards achieving those local aspirations. The independent evaluation of the programme found that it had generated significant employment and incomes and "could make a distinctly useful contribution to economic and social development".

During the programme, the island communities demonstrated a commitment to it which indicated clearly that they were capable of participating in and contributing to their own development. Despite the pressure and pace of modern live, it was abundantly clear that the spirit of self-help and community participation, an essential ingredient of local development, is alive and well on the islands.

While the Leader programme is an EU initiative rather than a national programme, in many respects it reflects the principles and objectives of the pilot programme for integrated rural development. There is the same emphasis on "bottom-up" local developments and local participation in the implementation of a local business plan. It was no surprise, therefore, that Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann submitted an excellent application for island development under the Leader II programme. I was more than happy to recommend the plan for support to the Government and delighted that it decided to allocate funding of £1.058 million. I signed the agreement between the group and my Department for the implementation of the plan on 1 February 1996.

The Leader programme is based on the principle of bottom-up development and provides an opportunity for rural communities to involve themselves directly in their own development. The approved groups are provided with funding to implement a plan which they themselves have drawn up. The most important feature of the programme is that the groups set their own priorities for development and have the authority to grant aid local projects. The plans cover investments in technical assistance, including animation and group administration costs, training, rural tourism, small and medium enterprises, marketing and processing of local produce and the preservation of the environment.

These are sectors in which useful contribution can be made to the economy and communities on our islands. I am confident that the funding allocated to the islands under the Leader II programme, combined with the other funds outlined in the interdepartmental committee's report, will make a significant contribution to the development of the islands.

The main benefit of the Leader programme is the involvement of the islands communities themselves in their own development. While I have referred to sectoral investments under the Leader II programme business plan, the benefit of the programme cannot be measured in financial terms only. I expect all groups to devote attention and resources to the process of nurturing ideas, guiding and supporting project promoters and, especially, facilitating and encouraging community development. This process of animation is the key aspect of the Leader programme which distinguishes it from other programmes. I am gratified that Comhdháil intends to implement a number of key regional animation programmes which will pay dividends long into the future. Nowadays, there are many sources of funding for economic activity, but the underlying support for animation and capacity building is critically important in encouraging and assisting communities to identify and exploit their potential for development.

To attain maximum benefit under the Leader programme it is vital that co-operation takes place at many levels. All Leader programme groups are required to ensure that a comprehensive strategy of co-ordination with local communities and agencies is put in place before commencing the programme. Comhdháil has put liaison mechanisms in place and I am confident this will pay dividends on the islands as this strategy will ensure that the Leader programme complements the activities and actions identified in the interdepartmental co-ordinating committee's report.

The Leader programme business plan is for the development of all offshore islands and will enable Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann to address the potential for development as it sees it. However, island communities have much in common with the communities on the adjacent mainland and can benefit from close contact and exchange with those communities. I am pleased, therefore, that Comhdháil will be represented on the county strategy groups for the counties along the coast with offshore islands. These groups have been established to ensure the co-ordination of activities among the area based initiatives at county level. The exchange of information and experience between islands as a group and with the adjacent mainland will ensure close co-ordination of the delivery of programmes to the benefit of island communities.

I am particularly pleased to note that, in the case of Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann, so many community organisations and State agencies are prepared to give of their time, energy and expertise at board and sub-board level in the group. This demonstrates an enthusiasm and commitment which I hope will manifest itself not only in terms of goodwill, but in practical concrete assistance for the future.

I acknowledge the hard work and commitment of those involved in Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann in preparing for the Leader II programme. The balanced and targeted measures outlined in the plan should make a substantial contribution to redressing island decline. I congratulate all concerned in drafting the plan and on their success in being selected to implement this programme.

The publication of the interdepeartmental committee's report marks an important step in island development. A strategic framework is now in place and the working committee will continue to ensure that the various recommendations are implemented. My Department is commited to contributing in any way possible to that work.

I take this opportunity to congratulate and compliment my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Carey, who has made a major contribution to the island communities long forgotten and ignored. For the first time there is a strategy in place which will ensure the future of the islanders. Its implementation presents a challenge for which additional resources will be needed. The Minister of State has made a start by giving us a platform from which to work and an objective to work towards. That is important. I am more confident now than at any time in the past about the future of the island communities.

Mr. Gallagher

(Donegal South West): Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh Tuarascáil an Choiste Idir-Ranna Comhordaithe um Fhorbairt Oileán agus comhghairdeas a dhéanamh leis an Aire Stáit agus le gach duine a bhí páirteach ann. Cuireann an tuarascáil os ár gcomhair an status quo ar an hoileáin agus níos tábhachtaí fós na fadhbanna atá acu go léir ó thaobh oideachais, infrastruchtúir, seirbhísí sláinte, soláthar fuinnimh agus cúrsaí cumarsáide. Tá fadhbanna talamhaíochta acu freisin maidir le Leader agus le hiascaireacht.

Tá sé fíor-thábhachtach tuairisc mar seo a bheith againn ionas go mbeidh clár oibre ní amháin ag an Roinn ach ag na Ranna Stáit go léir a bhfuil baint acu leis na hoileáin. Ba chóir go mbeadh plean comhordaithe ann ach ag an am gcéanna ní hé seo deireadh an scéil. Tá bóthar fada os ár gcomhair amach anseo agus beidh an tAire seo freagrach agus ba chóir go mbeadh sé féin agus oifigigh a Roinne, cé acu Roinn an Taoisigh nó an Roinn Ealaíon, Cultúir agus Gaeltachta, ar fáil lá i ndiaidh lae chun amharc i ndiaidh na fadhbanna a bheas ann. Ní féidir na fadhbanna go léir a réiteach le dhá mhilliún punt agus sin an méid atá luaite sa tuarascáil. Tá go leor eile de dhíth agus tá súil agam go bhfuil an Rialtas dáiríre faoi seo agus sásta an méid airgid atá ag teastáil a chur ar fáil chun seirbhísí a fhorbairt ar na hoileáin.

Ba cheart go nglacfadh achan Roinn den Rialtas leis an bpolasaí seo. Ba cheart go mbeadh na seirbhísí atá ar fáil ar an mórthír ar fáil ar na hoileáin freissin. Tá rud luachmhar againn sna hoileáin agus ní mór dúinn cuimhneamh ar an tábhacht a ghabhann leis na hoileáin seo ó thaobh an chultúir, na teanga, na staire agus na hoidhreachta de. Tá dualgas orainne mar ionadaithe poiblí, ar an Rialtas agus ar an Aire Stáit seo amharc i ndiaidh na riachtanais seo.

Bíodh an tAire cinnte go mbeimid ag coinneáil súil ghéar air féachaint cé mhéad atá sé sásta a dhéanamh ionas nach bhfágfar an tuarascáil seo ar leataobh ag fanacht ar Rialtas eile chun an obair a dhéanamh.

I pay tribute to all those involved in the preparation of the Report of the Interdepartmental Committee on Island Development. This fine document examines the status quo and, more importantly, highlights what is necessary to increase the standard of living on islands to that enjoyed on the mainland. Island people work hard and want to fend for themselves but they need the necessary tools to do so — the infrastructure, harbours, roads, educational establishments and other services available on the mainland.

Since 1961 there has been a serious population decline on the islands. On Arranmore, the largest island off the Donegal coast, the population decreased from 948 to 546 and on Inishboffin from 171 to three, although it increases during the summer months. On Tory Island it decreased from 264 to 119. The position is similar on Inishfree, Claggan, Inishbiggle, Clare Island, Inishtruk, Inis Mór, Inis Meáin and Inis Iarr. All those islands are in my Euro constituency and I am responsible for their development.

The decline in fishing in the past few years has resulted in many islanders emigrating as they are no longer able so sustain their families. The Department of the Marine should consider providing additional grant aid for fishing boats on the islands. In the past there were difficulties with salmon and drift net fishing, but although islanders caused little damage and caught few fish at that time, they are being penalised for the sins of others. They did what was necessary and a recent report stated that drift netting was not the main problem at the time.

The Department of the Marine has an important role to play in developing pelagic and demersal species. In conjunction with BIM and Údarás na Gaeltachta, it should also examine the possibility of promoting fish farming on islands. There are ideal locations off Arranmore Island for farming halibut and this could be developed on the lines of the fish farms on Oileán Cléire off the Cork coast. Fish farming could provide employment in areas where there are no alternative sources of employment.

I was disappointed when the Minister terminated the Gaeltacht authorisation grants for areas including the islands. I received similar requests for many years but turned them down because I realised the importance of those grants to Gaeltacht areas on the mainland and the islands. I know the Minister of State is in a difficult position. He visited Arranmore Island last Friday and agreed that the scenic road from Leabgarrow should be repaired. If necessary harbour funds should be used and the Commissioners of Irish Lights will play an important role in that. Each year the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht provides funds for Arranmore, Tory and other islands. The islands should be grant aided and receive Council funding. At present they cannot afford to repair roads to turbary plots, their only means of fuel. Island communities also suffered as far as grants for installing windows and doors are concerned.

In regard to education, not only should the islands be represented on the regional education board but they should have their own board. The islands will benefit under Leader and I urge the Ministers of State, Deputies Carey and Deenihan, to ensure that all the necessary information is made available to the island communities. They should work closely with the local officers and management.

The Fianna Fáil Party in Government played an important role in regard to Tory Island. We recognised the importance of a proper harbour infrastructure and provided the necessary finance to carry out hydrographic and topographic studies, which culminated in the report available to the Minister. I welcome the £4.6 million that will be expended on Tory. Funds should also be provided for road repairs and other necessary services. The Minister for Education made an ambiguous statement recently about education on Arranmore Island. We want a clear and unequivocal statement of her intentions regarding that island.

If an amalgamation is in the best interests of the children then the new school should be located on a green field site. This has already been brought to the Minister's attention.

Debate adjourned.