Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome that a new rural policy will focus on the islands. I am a stickler for sticking to the question. What is the current policy of the Department in respect of the islands? A question by Deputy Calleary elicited the information that Ministers were all asked to come back with their current policies. The inaugural meeting of the interdepartmental committee on the policy for the islands took place on 24 September. I ask the Minister of State to confirm that his Department was represented at that meeting. Each Department was asked to come back with its current policy. The reason I am being so specific is that I am fully familiar with the issue. I have the consultation paper before me as Gaeilge agus Béarla. I have all the previous reports as well. The difficulty is that island communities face far more challenges, as the Minister of State knows, than rural areas, which are certainly challenged too. I agree that we need a vibrant rural community. What are the current policies of the Department on the islands and the challenges currently facing them?

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