Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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5. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development further to Parliamentary Question No. 89 of 7 December 2021, the status of the new policy for the islands; if she will report on the work of the interdepartmental committee for the islands; if the minutes of the meetings of the interdepartmental committee are taken and published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8496/22]

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Baineann mo cheist leis an bpolasaí atá beartaithe do na hoileáin, polasaí atá beartaithe le fada an lá. Cá bhfuil sé? Cén uair a bheidh sé foilsithe? My question relates to the policy for the islands. I know the Minister is very familiar with it. I am more than familiar with it. Going back to 2019, the Government of the day accepted that we needed urgently a policy for the islands underpinned by legislation, as in Scotland. My question today is, what is the position in relation to the policy and when will it be published?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Government and I are committed to publishing a ten-year policy on island development with associated three-year action plans. Work on the policy is well under way and my Department has now completed the bilateral meetings with all relevant Departments. The bilateral meetings provided an opportunity for frank discussion of the issues raised by island communities and for Departments to assess how they might help address the various issues raised. The interdepartmental committee held its most recent meeting on 29 November 2021, during which the participating Departments reviewed progress and agreed the next steps to be taken. It was agreed at this meeting that the various Departments would submit a list of actions that they could undertake to enhance the future development and sustainability of communities on our offshore islands. It is planned to convene a further meeting of the interdepartmental committee in the coming weeks. Minutes are taken at the interdepartmental committee meetings, but they are not published routinely by my Department.

Work has begun on an initial draft of the policy document and, based on the development work to date, the draft is expected to be ready for my consideration by the middle of the year.

I know this is taking time but we have been engaging intensively with Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann. We keep it abreast of our progress on the strategy. I met the group last year and its representatives told me they wanted time to be taken to get this right because they did not want another glossy document but, rather, real actions and meanings in this strategy. It does cover several Departments.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I am amused at the need for more time. First, I appreciate the work being done, but a task force was set up in 1996. No policy was ever produced. In contrast, in Scotland there is policy underpinned by legislation and the population is increasing. We know from the most recent census that the population declined on a certain number of islands. There are 30 offshore islands, of which eight are in the Gaeltacht. Gaeltacht islands account for more than 70% of the offshore population, so it is a particularly acute problem in the context of the language. This is not just about the language, however; it is about a policy of sustainability for all the islands.

I understood there was to be another meeting of the interdepartmental committee this month. When will that take place? Is it to be the last meeting? Will the work from now on be to produce the actual document? Is the consultation finished with such that it is now all to do with producing the policy document?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The work is at an advanced stage, thankfully. The Deputy is right. This has been going on for a long time. The draft is being worked on currently and, as I stated, officials of my Department are in regular communication with the representative groups. It is my intention that this will continue as the draft policy is being developed. I know exactly what the Deputy is saying. The interdepartmental committee for the islands was established in 2019 and has had numerous meetings. It went to Sherkin Island, Whiddy Island, Dursey Ireland, Bere Island, Inis Oírr, Inis Mór, Inis Meáin, Hare Island, Long Island and Arranmore. It has had public consultation. It did focus groups. There has been a serious amount of consultation. All that is now finished, so there is no reason the draft plan should not be coming forward very soon. I will continue to keep the pressure on.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank the Minister, but the words "very soon" are very elastic, are they not? The 1996 interdepartmental co-ordinating committee on island development did not include representatives of the island communities and neither does the current committee. I see that it went out to communicate, but it was a fault from the start that an interdepartmental committee was set up that, of its nature, excluded island representatives. We then had the position that the committee was going out top-heavy to talk down. I hope that is not what happened in reality but that is the way the framework was set up. The island community had repeatedly appealed that it be an integral part of the design of the policy and where we are going, given the background. It is all in the documents I have before me. I only have ten seconds remaining, so I will not read it out. This is a positive story. The islands can show us the way in the context of sustainable development, but we need a comprehensive policy urgently. I ask the Minister to clarify the meaning of "very soon".

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As I stated, the committee is in the process of preparing the draft policy. We are at the final stage. I cannot give the Deputy a specific date but I give her a commitment that I will make sure we get this policy document finished and delivered as quickly as possible. There has been extensive consultation. I attended the online 2021 annual general meeting of Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann and, as I stated, it asked me to allow more time. Its members want to get it right. It has taken a long time to get to this stage and there is no point rushing it at the end for the sake of producing the document by an arbitrary date. We are committed to finalising it very soon.