Ms Bairbre Nic Aongusa:

I thank the Deputy. I can confirm that the island representatives said at the annual general meeting of Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann, which was held in July and was attended by the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, who opened the meeting, that they wanted us to take more time to develop a policy. They said they had no appetite for a glossy document that would not address their concerns. They did not want to see that. The Department is responding to that desire on their part.

As I said in my opening statement, the Department has an excellent track record of engaging with communities and stakeholders in developing our policies. We are committed to engaging with Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann and other island groups, and we continue to engage with them throughout the policy development process. We want to make sure that we develop a policy for islands that makes sense and is meaningful for everyone involved. In my experience, the policy development process is an iterative one. It can take a variety of different forms. You can have formal stakeholder engagements but you also have informal meetings, ongoing dialogue and back-and-forth engagement. That is really where the meat of the policy development can happen. Having done this already in regard to our five-year strategy for the community and voluntary sector, I envisage that it will involve much iterative engagement and back-and-forth discussions with all of the stakeholders, with Departments and agencies, including the Department of Rural and Community Development, and with the representative groups. Of course we will include the island representatives in the conversations as the policy is progressed. Indeed, at the annual general meeting our Department made a presentation to the island representatives and all the islanders who attended on the progress of the policy to date. We are absolutely committed to continuing to engage them.

Understandably, there are some conversations that are more productive if the only people in the room are departmental officials. I refer to hard conversations about getting actions over the line and getting measures included in action plans. There is no question about the involvement of the island representatives in the policy development process. To confirm what we are proposing for the policy, as Deputy Kerrane has said we intend to develop a ten-year policy for island development which will be supported by three-year action plans. We see the policy document as being a relatively short, high-level and strategic document that would set out a vision for the island communities and set medium-term and long-term objectives for their economic, cultural and social development. The action plans, on the other hand, will be the operational piece. They will be more operational in nature and will contain specific measurable actions across a range of Departments and agencies. They will be subject to regular monitoring and review. That is the nub. Those action plans will be our focus in the coming months as we seek to bring to fruition a short, high-level strategic document setting out a vision for the islands, and an action plan where we can have measurable actions that everyone can agree to. That is our objective.

Deputy Kerrane also spoke about data on vacant housing. We are certainly going to continue to engage with the island groups and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to see what can be done to gather data on vacant housing and to explore all the options that are available for refurbishing derelict houses on the islands.