John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)

The Skellig Rock is one of only three world heritage sites in Ireland and of enormous religious, historical and archaeological importance. Thousands of visitors from around the world have been attracted to it down through the centuries. Few have left it without having their lives enhanced by the experience. The Office of Public Works, OPW, deserves great credit for the manner in which it has lovingly restored and maintained the structures on Skellig rock which are of enormous importance to our heritage.

A limited number of licences have been issued to boatmen who operate passenger boats from the mainland to the Skellig Rock and back. This helps contain the numbers visiting the rock, thereby limiting the possibility of damage through overcrowding or overvisiting. Recently, the OPW decided to dramatically shorten the traditional summer season at Sceilig Mhichíl. Both ends of the season are affected. In fact, the OPW has reduced the season by three months. This year a new OPW visitor guide was issued to all Sceilig Mhichíl ferryboats for distribution to all persons intending to visit the island. It contains a restriction for visits to the site outside the OPW advertised season which begins only from 25 May. Newly erected signs placed on the Skelligs also contain this notice to visitors. The boatmen have been informed similar notices will be sent to all tourism offices, guesthouses, etc, presently.

This reduction in the open season will have a devastating effect, not only on the ferryboats which may go out of business but also on the wider tourism industry of the south west already struggling in these difficult economic times. The traditional season has always been 21 April to 31 October. It is crucial that this be maintained. The OPW claims that Sceilig Mhichíl is inaccessible in April and May and that it cannot place guides and equipment on the island then. This is nonsense. Hundreds of tourists have landed there in these months for more than 45 years.

The boatmen were first informed by letter from the OPW in 2007 that the season would be formally defined and would only run from 18 May to 24 September that year. The OPW also offered that if for this year it was not able to set up residence on the island by 18 May, a guide would be in position at Portmagee to travel out with one of the passenger boats any day it was deemed possible to land on the island. This obvious solution was also reported in the 2008 UNESCO report which stated the OPW was prepared to look at the season and the provision of shore-based guides.

The provision of shore-based guides in April, May and October to travel to and from the island with the ferryboats, as initially suggested by the OPW, is the answer to keeping the traditional operating season open. It is the means of maintaining much needed jobs in the region. Yet, this offer has now been withdrawn and ruled out by the OPW once more.

I request the Minister to facilitate and accept the solution of shore-based guides in April, May and October to facilitate the boatmen, visitors and the tourism industry in south Kerry. In these difficult economic times, it behoves the Government and its agencies to assist people in making a livelihood, particularly in peripheral regions. It is disappointing in this case that the Government agency in question, the OPW, has come to a unilateral decision which dramatically affects the livelihoods of many in the tourism industry in south-west Kerry.

It is hard enough to make a living in peripheral regions in good economic times; even more so in difficult times. It is not the function of a State agency to inhibit people from making a living. The OPW's decision to unilaterally impose this ban on travelling to the Skellig Rock is an inhibiting factor in enabling people from making a living from tourism in south-west Kerry during the summer season. It is unacceptable. The arguments that the rock is unsafe or that people cannot land there in other months are spurious. It has been proved by data taken from the weather station at Valentia that the months in question have better weather conditions than the OPW claims for the other months.

The Minister must direct the OPW to maintain the status quo ante and ensure the Skellig Rock remains open, as it has done for the past 45 years.

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