Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. It is a very important part of our heritage. Unfortunately, the State failed to keep island life alive but we want to keep the stories and traditions and the brilliant heritage there alive. To do so, we need to be able to make the island accessible to people. One of the first books I read, when I was eight or nine years of age, was the English translation of Fiche Bliain ag Fás. Marvellous literature has come from the island. People such as the great Micheál de Mórdha have done great work keeping all of the heritage and literary history alive. It is nothing unless people can immerse themselves on the island and experience being on the island. The OPW has done marvellous work on restoring some of the cottages on the island but we really need to be able to open it up to the world and bring people from all over Ireland and all over the world to see it and to do so safely.

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