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

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. As he is aware, the public service obligation, PSO, status of the air service to the Aran Islands lapsed some years ago. My Department is now bringing the service back into EU public service obligation regularity compliance. The procurement process is currently under way for the new contract. Once completed, it will bring long-term certainty of service to the island communities. The existing contract for the air service to the Aran Islands will continue in the interim to ensure that there is no break in service. I am confident that a successful operator for the service will be announced in the coming weeks and that the island communities will have a better air service over the next four years.

With regard to the ferry service to the Aran Islands, the existing contract will run to 30 November 2022. As with the air service renewal, my Department has engaged with the island communities to discuss the current service and improvements that can be included in the tender document. The main issues of concern are the sailings timetables, the challenges for users with reduced mobility boarding and alighting from the ferry. My Department will endeavour to address these issues as best it can through the tender document.

Finally, the current contract for the Inishbofin ferry service will continue to 31 December 2024. Given that this contract will be in place for over two and a half more years, there are no plans to commence a new procurement procedure in the near future.

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