Mr. Joe Hamill:

If I am correct, the three Aran Islands would have been – Inis Mór, Inis Meáin and Inis Oirr. At the time, Aer Arann was set up specifically for that purpose. It provided services both to islanders and to tourists and business. That essentially continues to today. The flights now fly from Inverin where a dedicated airstrip is located. Part of the thinking at the time was the development of such an approach. The study also considered Cleggan and Inishbofin. There was already a private airstrip in Cleggan which was used by private businesses. Coming out of the study the idea developed that there would potentially be a service between the mainland and Inishbofin. At the same time there was a proposal to put an airstrip on Tory Island. In a sense there was a general planned look at that stage around what might be possible on some of the main islands, mainly in terms of better access and also potentially for tourism purposes. Essentially, the plan went ahead at that time and two airstrips were constructed, one on Inishbofin and one in Cleggan, at a significant cost of upwards of €9 million.