Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Have the doctors no advice on why children seem to always get sick in the middle of the night? Anyway, we will figure that out. I have a few more general questions. First I want to talk about the demographics. We talked about the idea of lighthouse communities in terms of sustainable energy. There is a case to be made for having lighthouse communities for e-health. It makes absolute sense to me to roll that out on the islands. I want a better understanding of the demographics on the islands. I will make an assumption that it is an older and ageing population, but I may well be wrong on that. I am looking for a very general answer, but perhaps the witnesses could characterise the general health of the islanders. This also plays into those demographic pressures and maybe the instances of chronic conditions that were referenced previously. I also want to ask about the availability of mental health supports. I know that rural isolation is a real and pressing issue across rural Ireland. My sense is that community is stronger on the islands but again, that is me coming in and making a generalisation without having a good knowledge of how things are on the ground and whether loneliness and rural isolation are an issue on the islands.