Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Deputy's thoughts on the islands. We have issues around depopulation on some of our islands. I have responsibility for the populated islands. I am very aware of the potential on the likes of Bere Island and Sherkin Island. Particularly in respect of Bere Island we have to look at the military heritage. There is great leadership there in the likes of John Walsh. There are comharchumainn right through Sherkin Island. I was speaking to `the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, today and he is looking at attending that AGM if it suits him. I asked him to check his diary. Maybe we can meet up with the comharchumann down there. There are so many other things at play with regard to responsibility for the islands. For example the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine had a special allocation of pillar 1 money for the islands. It looked at the islands on their own. That was a good thing. There are a number of issues and challenges. We have responsibility for the populated islands. The Deputy may have ideas for ways to maintain the current population and to get more people back.

Arranmore got an allocation from the Department of Rural and Community Development for a digital hub. That had a great positive knock-on effect. In fact, one person who had been living in Scotland was thinking about moving back and bringing their business back if the broadband was available. The islands are a big focus of the national development plan, as they should be. I have no problem putting on the record that we should be discriminate when we look at rolling out the national broadband plan. We have a tendency in Ireland to work from core to periphery. We have an opportunity here to start from the most peripheral isolated areas and to work back. That is a very black and white suggestion which probably requires a much more complex answer. Regardless of who gets the broadband contract, I have always said that we should look at the more vulnerable places when it is being rolled out. No doubt I will have the Deputy's support in that.