Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State mentioned a reduction in the population of Bear Island and Sherkin Island. There has probably also been a reduction in population on Whiddy Island. The reason for this is that people do not have anywhere to live. People cannot come to an island if there is nowhere to live. Neither the Government nor the local authority have seen the need that exists. There is such a need. I am dealing with a person who lives on one of the islands. She applied for planning permission on her own family farm and was refused, even after spending €10,000. Imagine a person spending €10,000, an individual who wants to continue to live on the island and is entitled to do so, but has been refused planning permission. It is a shocking situation she finds herself in. She cannot get social housing and has been refused planning permission, apparently due to some bit of gorse, even though she sent all these reports in. This person paid for various reports along the way. There are similar situations on Dursey Island, where people cannot access the mainland and have not had fresh food for almost six to eight weeks. We have serious situations. The bottom line is the housing situation is one of the most serious because the future of the islands totally depends on housing, whether it is Bear Island, Dursey Island, Cape Clear, Whiddy Island or Sherkin Island. They need to have a future. There is no future in what the Minister of State said.

See this speech in context