Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

On another day, I would enjoy reflecting on the islands but, at this point, we are on the policy and the policy has to reflect what the people want. I do not have the time to go into that. The urgency is to get the policy published and then get it based on legislation. Specifically, I welcome what the Minister is saying in regard to LEADER. If I hear him correctly, he is saying he agrees that the funding for LEADER should be changed to facilitate the demand, or if not the demand then the request of the islanders that the islands be recognised as a specific region or subregion rather than aligned with each county throughout the country. That is specifically set out in the representations to us. I clearly hear the Minister say he supports that, which I welcome. I am asking him now to do something about that. If he does not take action, the powers that be are going to proceed with the existing scheme, which does not recognise all of the islands as a subregion or a region of their own.

We are past talking about what the islands can teach us. We know that. They are a microcosm of how to do things right. They have shown resilience. What we need now is to do something for them in terms of policy, legislation and funding. The most specific way to do that, this week or next week, is to change the funding model.

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