Mr. Jerry Early:

We will share the questions asked by Deputies McConalogue, Ferris, Martin Kenny and Pearse Doherty. The one that gets me is the impact that the current situation has had on the islands since 2006. I have been attending this committee and the previous one which was chaired by the current Minister of State, Deputy Andrew Doyle. This is the fourth of fifth time I have been present and Deputy Ferris is the most consistent person because he was a member of the previous committee.

It started with the salmon ban in 2006. I reiterate this is not about salmon but this is where it started and the subsequent restrictions that happened very quickly after that. I can only speak about my island, Arranmore, but since 2006 there has been a 40% reduction in population. The school numbers have dropped from 60 to 26. The youngest person on Arranmore Island, which is the second highest populated island off the island of Ireland-----