Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I accept her bona fides. I hope she will visit Galway, where there are a number of islands including the Aran Islands and Inishbofin. Huge progress has been made on ecotourism and dark skies on Inishbofin but the island is struggling for something as basic as a primary care centre. That is just one example. The Minister has made progress on the business case for Inis Oírr, which I welcome, but there are many other problems on the ground. It is not bona fides that are missing, but a policy and legislation to underpin it. I have mentioned the interdepartmental report from 1996. We then had a report from an Oireachtas joint committee in 2014 and a study on the islands of west Cork which covered the period from 1998 to 2004. We have had any amount of reports and recommendations but we have had no action. That is the difficulty. We need policy underpinned by legislation. Perhaps, when the Covid restrictions allow, we might all take a little trip over to Scotland to hear a presentation on that country's policy and legislation and how it has managed to increase the population.

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