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

The Government and I are committed to publishing a ten-year policy on island development with associated three-year action plans. Work on the policy is well under way and my Department has now completed the bilateral meetings with all relevant Departments. The bilateral meetings 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. The interdepartmental committee held its most recent meeting on 29 November 2021, during which the participating Departments reviewed progress and agreed the next steps to be taken. It was agreed at this meeting that the various Departments would submit a list of actions that they could undertake to enhance the future development and sustainability of communities on our offshore islands. It is planned to convene a further meeting of the interdepartmental committee in the coming weeks. Minutes are taken at the interdepartmental committee meetings, but they are not published routinely by my Department.

Work has begun on an initial draft of the policy document and, based on the development work to date, the draft is expected to be ready for my consideration by the middle of the year.

I know this is taking time but we have been engaging intensively with Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann. We keep it abreast of our progress on the strategy. I met the group last year and its representatives told me they wanted time to be taken to get this right because they did not want another glossy document but, rather, real actions and meanings in this strategy. It does cover several Departments.

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