Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 5 December 2007
55 Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the number of grants that his Department has made to the island communities since he took office; the cost of such grants; the number of grants not drawn down; the number refused; the reason for such refusals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32591/07]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware, my Department was established in 2002. Expenditure under the islands subhead of my Department's Vote from June 2002 to date is in excess of €61.5 million. This figure includes capital expenditure in the order of €42.8 million which was directed towards infrastructural works, such as piers, slipways, airstrips, coastal protection and roads. The current expenditure of €18.7 million over the same period was directed principally towards subventions for the transport services to the islands, including ferry services, air services and a winter helicopter service to Toraigh. This expenditure information is available in a breakdown on a county basis, which I am happy to provide to the Deputy on request.
As the Deputy knows, I was reappointed to my current office earlier this year. Overall islands expenditure in 2007 to date is running at €15.5 million, of which €11.7 million relates to the capital programme and €3.8 million to the current programme. The Deputy will also be aware that my Department provides funding for island development under a range of other subheads and programmes.
In the circumstances, the Deputy will appreciate that it was not possible to collate the detailed information sought by him in the time available. However, if the Deputy has any particular case in mind, I would be glad to provide the relevant data.
I do not believe the purpose of the question was to collate information but rather to see what impact the grants were having on the island communities. Are they making island life easier? Are the people living there enjoying the benefits of the Celtic tiger economy as the rest of us are supposed to be? Under what specific headings were the grants allocated, for example, tourism, recreational and community facilities etc.? What is the population of the islands that is being addressed? Are the numbers decreasing or has there been an increase in population? What is the Minister's overall view on ensuring island populations are good vibrant strong communities? What else may be done as regards developing the island communities?
It is good to hear about the infrastructure. The purpose and tone of the question essentially is to find out where the islanders stand regarding the mainland population and how they are developing their own communities.
When I initially became Minister of State with responsibility for the islands in 1997, two aspects predominated in terms of maintaining populations on the islands. One was the physical infrastructure. Some islands lacked water, others electricity while piers were a pervasive problem on virtually all the islands. Roads were also a major problem and so on. A substantial amount of money has been spent on getting the infrastructure to an adequate standard.
The other major issue at the time, after which enormous strides have been made, related to the ferry services which were totally inadequate for modern living. Islanders are no different from anybody else in that they want to get to and from where they live safely with ease, on a guaranteed service with a proper timetable at a reasonable price.
To put the Deputy in the framework as regards how things were, at that time the Gaeltacht islands had subsidised ferry services, but the non-Gaeltacht islands did not. Virtually every island with a small population, such as Long, Heir, Whiddy, Beare, Cape Clear and Sherkin, all have subsidised ferry services now. Moving up along the west coast, Inishmore, Inishmaan, Inishboffin, Turk, Clare, Inishbiggle, Aranmore and Toraigh all now have subsidised ferry services. I believe that was crucial. However, the requirements are now changing and employment has become a major issue. For that reason, I have arranged a dedicated Leader partnership just for islands, even though there are only 3,000 people there, because unless they have dedicated services we will not get the benefit of the infrastructural spend in terms of developing the population and so on. A fairly comprehensive programme of work is in hand.
To be fair to the Minister, he has done some very good work for the islands and I could not take that away from him. There are three islands in my constituency and the Minister knows that the number one issue for many years has been infrastructure and getting on and off the islands. What are the Minister's key priorities for the islands for next year? Will the Leader partnership for the islands promised in the agreed programme for Government happen? Is an island allowance in place at present and, if not, what proposals has the Minister for the islanders in that regard?
Islanders have a major cost factor to bear. People living on an island must come to the mainland to shop. They have to get their goods delivered to the pier and then they must pay to have them transported by boat to the island. There should be a substantial allowance if we are to encourage people to live on the islands. In any event, we must give them the infrastructure, back-up and supports they need.
Regarding the islander's allowance, there is €12.76 extra available per week for people on old age and invalidity pensions, etc. Regarding the Deputy's second question, the Leader partnership company is being set up. That is all arranged and elections are taking place at present. That is a major innovation. Formerly they had their own Leader company. Now they will have a Leader partnership and I believe it is much better to provide services from within to the islands.
The third issue touched on by the Deputy related to the major initiatives for next year. The substantial infrastructure programme continues. As well as that, I have arranged for Údarás na Gaeltachta, my Department and Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann to do a socio-economic study of the islands. We have to find out precisely how much extra it costs an individual to live on an island. If one wants to make a case for resources, one must always have the facts.
Regarding the figure of 3,000 the Minister has given, is that the total population of all the islands and is it decreasing or increasing?
It is an approximate figure. Compiling the island population is much more complicated than in the past because by Sunday night most people will have returned to the mainland. Therefore, one gets a smaller population than one would if a census were taken every day and divided by the number of days in the week. The figure is about 3,000 and is still decreasing on aggregate. However, the rate of decrease has slowed down. One of the challenges associated with turning rural populations around is the high number of old people who do not have families living with them. Even when one is turning around the population structure, one can still get an absolute decrease in the population. The big challenge, however, is the number of children at school and the number of people aged between 25 and 55 living on an island. That is the target group we must reach.
