Gabrielle McFadden (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is not that I do not recognise how beautiful the islands are and that we should promote them and invest in them but it seems that just because the money was there it had to be spent. If a private company was spending €9 million on a project it would carry out a feasibility study to make sure that it was worth spending the money. That €9 million was spent simply because it was there, but it should not have been spent. I am not against development for the islands. They are a wonderful asset.

What was the €300,000 in respect of maintenance spent on, if these are practically derelict airstrips? Why is there a cost of €300,000? Did it cost €300,000 to maintain them in 2014?