Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is very important. We are all only passing through. The island was there long before any of us and it will be there long after all of us. It is incumbent on all of us, especially those of us who are public representatives, to try to improve the retention and preservation of our heritage while we have an opportunity to do so. It is important that we get things right, such as the conservation management plan. This is very important. Equally, it is important that we get a landing facility in place that is appropriate for the island to make it safer for people to disembark and land there. Additionally, there is a need for visitors to have an awareness of the wildlife and heritage on the island. The measure taken in this regard is a small one. It did not take a huge effort, but it is important that there is this awareness. The Minister of State will remember the conversation we had with the lovely couple who were keeping an lóistín over the summer and the terrible stories they had to relay to us concerning how irresponsible a very small minority of visitors were concerning the wildlife on the island. If there was general awareness in this regard, it could prevent much of this type of thing from happening. Having the relevant information distributed is important in this regard, as well as having the co-operation of the people operating the boat services.

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