Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste. That is a great answer and I do not know what to do now with my speaking time. It was such a positive response. It is good news and the sooner it progresses the better. I visited Bere Island recently. The Tánaiste might have seen the headlines about the electricity being cut off on the island for more than 30 hours. The subsea cable connecting the island to the mainland was cut by activity that should not have been happening in the inlet at the time. I went to visit the island because being without power for 30 hours is a dark thing for any island community to go through. We did not just talk about loss of electricity; we spoke about so much else.

The Bere Island Projects Group is a fantastic initiative on the island. It organises tours of the Lonehort Battery, which was built in 1899 and used during the First World War. It is an incredible attraction. It is good news that the licence will be renewed. It means the two tour guides who give full guided tours of the battery can continue to do so. The maintenance side is very important, with community employment and Tús workers and volunteers maintaining the battery. They do jobs such as cutting the grass. It is very important that this operation remain in place. Perhaps we can touch on funding to turn it into a world-class tourist attraction.

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