Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

An Blascaod Mór is a nationally and internationally significant heritage site due to the important literary and cultural output of this tiny community in the first half of the 20th century and the substantial collection of books – nearly 100 in all – that have been written about life on the Blasket Islands in the past century. An Blascaod Mór is also part of the Blasket Islands special area of conservation with the highest level of environmental protection. The State purchased the majority of the holdings on the island in 2009 and the OPW has restored a number of the houses on the island since then. Ionad an Bhlascaoid, located on the mainland at Dún Chaoin, was built in 1993 as a cultural centre to present and interpret the extraordinary cultural and literary heritage of the Blasket Islands to visitors. It is being substantially upgraded at present by the OPW with support from Fáilte Ireland as a flagship visitor destination on the Wild Atlantic Way and will reopen in the coming months.

Improved landing facilities, whereby boats could embark and disembark passengers directly to the island, are desirable for two reasons. The first is safety while the other is that this will be an essential element in the sustainable management of the island from a heritage, tourism and environmental point of view. While ferry services are confined to licensed vessels with specific tender permits, it is not currently possible to manage access and visitor numbers to achieve a balance between sustainable tourism access and maintaining the fragile environmental balance of the island. It is the advice to OPW from Kerry County Council that it is necessary to secure fresh planning permission for a pier at An Blascaod Mór, given that there have been significant changes in the designated status of the island and in environmental regulations in the period since the original permission was granted to Kerry County Council in 2003. This will necessitate updated environmental and other reports to support such an application, as well as the preparation of a detailed updated design for the project.

In 2022, the OPW intends to engage with the relevant stakeholders to consider the key challenges in undertaking this project and to develop a strategic working group to advance the development of the project. It is anticipated that the OPW will commission updated reports to inform the development of a coherent solution to the development of landing facilities on the island. Additionally, efforts will continue to secure capital funding for the project through the relevant agencies and Departments.

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