Ms N?ir?n U? Mhaoldomhnaigh:

First, I welcome all of the members here to Árainn Mhór island. As an islander, it is a real privilege to have them present here today. It was a huge body of work to get this all set up, and the room next door as well. I thank the committee very much for giving us the opportunity.

We welcome the Croí Cónaithe scheme and the extra top-up. We have a significant number of derelict, vacant houses here on the island, but there is a problem that many face, as a lot of them would have to go back a few generations to be able to establish ownership of the title. The cost associated with that would be very prohibitive for a lot of people. It would be very expensive to go back through the generations to get the title of the property in the first place.

Another minor issue is that community groups such as ourselves bought lands and property over the years. Our co-op was established in the 1970s and many years ago it purchased lands for development works. Where there are derelict houses on some of those lands you do not qualify for Croí Cónaithe if the property is not in the name of an individual. A community group cannot avail of it. That is all I have to say about Croí Cónaithe, but it would be very helpful if community groups could apply for it.