Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister recognises this with regard to Croí Cónaithe. The cost of building on an island or doing anything on an island that requires the physical movement of bulky goods does not just involve the cost of transport. We could give the transport for free and it would still not resolve the extra cost issue. If someone was getting something delivered to his or her house, he or she would put it on a vehicle, bring it to his or her house and take it off.

That is in one movement. To put that into a house on an island, the item has to be brought as far as the port, the equivalent of getting it to your house. There are then the transport costs of the boat. Even in the mythical world where they were eliminated, when you get to the island you have to reload it again, bring it to the house, and unload it for a second time. It is the handling of the goods that costs a lot of the money. Therefore, it is always more expensive to do things on islands. When Croí Cónaithe was being announced I thought it was coming from the Department with responsibility for housing but it is coming from the Minister's Department and I welcome that. I think it is a little bit low. As the islanders will say themselves, it is 35% more expensive to build on an island.

We spoke to the Minister about the housing aid for older people, HAOP, grant. Islands should have the same top-up because it is just more expensive. I stress to the Minister that if all the Departments do not tackle the issue on the islands, a lot of the investment will be lost because people cannot live on the islands without the housing issue being resolved. That includes new families. The idea one has to be born on the island to get planning permission or to get a house on the island and that not even the local development company can build houses on islands for people who are coming in means every island will be killed off.