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

Inishbofin is 70 miles from Galway and to go to or from Galway on public transport takes 3.5 hours. If the air service was operating, a person could do it in approximately an hour, which is a saving of 2.5 hours each way. If a person tried to do it in a day, one way would take seven hours and the other two hours, which is a saving of five hours.

Everybody agrees that the services to the three Aran islands are lifeline services and are absolutely important. The State does not have public consultations about this; it decides that this is a lifeline service, like a bus service or a train service. However, uniquely in the case of Inishbofin, perhaps because it is a non-Gaeltacht island, although I do not know why, everybody thinks that for a few hundred thousand euro a year, it is not worth providing what would be an even more beneficial service to the people there because they are so far from Galway.

I have one question for the Minister. Will she come out to Inishbofin? I would be happy to go out with her. Will she note how long it takes her to get there? However, do not take the State car, just take the bus.

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