Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I compliment my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Kyne who opened up a scheme for the islands. Deputy Penrose was correct in pointing out that the islands incur extra costs to transport materials in and out of them. I would like co-operation between the local authorities, the Departments of Transport, Tourism and Sport and Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and my Department. The Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh, has responsibility for both Gaeltacht and non-Gaeltacht islands. There should be a scheme to assist island communities. They are a special case and have a special need. It is important we maintain and look after our islands. They are a great tourist attraction and we want people to live and work on them and to be able to travel on roads of a good standard. I lobbied for island communities in recent years, as I have three islands in my constituency. The Minister of State, Deputy Kyne, opened up a scheme when he had responsibility for the Gaeltacht. We had other plans and we hope to continue with them.

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