Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister emphasised the changes made. What interaction did she have on those changes with the representatives of the islands? Is she telling me they are happy with those changes and have abandoned their campaign to be recognised as a subregional area? This is very important. During the presentation in the AV room, the representatives pointed out that they had been looking for this recognition for almost 40 years. The funding was upped for a specific period and then went backwards. They pointed out that islands are specifically mentioned as a separate entity in the European Green Deal, the just transition fund, the clean energy for the EU islands policy, the Memorandum of Split, the structural funds and so on, and Articles 174 and 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The message they are giving us is that there are no obstacles to recognition from a European point of view in relation. The obstacle is due to the mentality here and the bureaucratic decision made to exclude them.

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