Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 75, 89 and 101 together. However, as Deputy Ó Cathasaigh appears to be the only one here I will focus on his question.

As set out in Our Rural Future, the Government is committed to publishing a ten-year policy on island development, with associated plans. It had been initially envisaged that the new policy would be published in 2021. However, following engagement with island communities it became clear that more time was required to get the policy right. Indeed, at this year's annual general meeting of the islands' representative body, Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann, at which I was present, this very point was stressed by members of that body. We have to get it right.

I understand that based on the development work to date, the draft policy is expected to be ready by the middle of next year. Some initial work has already been made on aspects of the policy document and considerable progress has also been made on bilateral meetings with stakeholders. In particular, my Department has now completed the bilateral meetings with all relevant Departments. The bilateral meetings have provided an opportunity for frank discussion of the issues raised by island communities and for Departments to assess how they might help address the various issues raised. It is not just my Department; we want to involve many other Departments in this. The interdepartmental committee for the islands held its most recent meeting on Monday, 29 November, during which the participating Departments reviewed progress on the policy development. The next meeting of the committee is scheduled for February 2022.

In the past year, I have managed to visit a good number of islands. I was on Inis Mór and Inis Meáin and I have been to two of the Donegal islands and some of the islands off the coast of Cork. I am imagining living on an island tonight. It does present challenges. This policy is an important document and we want to make sure it is right. As I said, we had a meeting at the end of November and we will continue to work on it. I thank the Deputy for his question.

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