Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his comprehensive questioning and for raising this important matter. While I am not sure I will be able to give him all the answers he needs, I will ensure that the questions he asked will be answered. It is a day for compliments and I also thank him for being so courteous about my lack of Irish. I really appreciate that. I am taking the matter on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh.

Great progress has been made over the past number of years in improving the lives of islanders. Deputy Ó Cuív and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle can both take some credit for that. Since the 1990s, there has been a basic increase in the number of State-funded ferry services. Of course, transport services have long been identified as having the utmost importance for island communities and various Governments have invested massively in infrastructure and ferry services to ensure that islanders could live in their own area. Currently, the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht has 26 ferry contracts in respect of 19 islands and these contracts cover passenger, freight, bus and air services. The Department has spent in excess of €100 million on island infrastructure projects over ten years. Much of that expenditure related to the redevelopment of Cé Chill Rónáin in Árainn, which port is undoubtedly very important to the island and the region. Over 250,000 passengers, including islanders and tourists, use the port at Cill Rónáin each year. I am satisfied at this point that good infrastructure is available to the inhabited offshore islands and that good progress has also been made with regard to the development of sustainable communities on the islands notwithstanding restricted resources.

I will focus now on the matter of the ferry service to Árainn. As the Deputy is undoubtedly aware, the passenger ferry contract to Árainn, Inis Mór, came to an end on 31 January 2013. At that time, the Department undertook a public tendering process in the usual manner to agree a new five-year contract up to 31 January 2018. However, no tender for the service was received by the Department at that time. In the absence of a tender, discussions were held between the Department's officials and ferry operator providing the service to explore the possibility of a new contract on the same terms as the previous contract. While those talks failed, the service continued at the existing frequency. Again in 2014, the Department decided to seek public tenders in the usual manner for a contract to end on 31 October 2017 to coincide with the expiry of the contract with Aran Ferries Teo for the Inis Meáin and Inis Oírr services. One tender was received from Aran Ferries Teo and a committee was formed to assess it. As part of the negotiations, a meeting was held between the Department and the company on 22 October 2014.

Following much discussion, the company decided to leave matters as they were, that is, without a contract with the Department, and that Aran Ferries Teo. would continue to provide the service throughout the winter as well as the summer. The ferry operator was happy to continue the annual service at the same frequency without a subsidy from the Department.

The current difficulty arises from the by-laws to be implemented by Galway County Council at Cé Chill Rónáin. I understand that talks have taken place with Galway County Council regarding these difficulties. The ferry operator had stated that the service was to discontinue at the end of this month. The Minister of State, Deputy McHugh, held meetings with community representatives from Árainn and with Galway County Council and his Department was in touch with the ferry operator on a number of occasions. The last of these meetings took place yesterday, 26 January, and I am delighted to inform the Deputy that, as a result, agreement has been reached with the ferry operator that the service will now continue until the end of April 2016 and thereafter throughout the summer. The operator has agreed that he is willing to provide the same service as had been in place until the present difficulties arose.

In welcoming this development, I emphasise that it has always been the Minister of State's intention to ensure the community on Árainn has an adequate and regular ferry service throughout the year, winter and summer, and his Department's intervention has guaranteed that this will be the case. I understand the islanders in this instance are eager to have a regular and dependable ferry service and the Department will examine the possibility of assisting with the provision of such a service for the Árainn community in order that islanders can promote the sustainable development of the island and share equally in the economic and social life of the nation. It is important that our islands be supported and that their communities continue to live on them.

See this speech in context