Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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7. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development further to Parliamentary Question No. 956 of 5 April 2022, the status of the development of Caladh Mór on Inis Meáin; the status of the bathymetric studies on the harbour; if they have been completed to date; the status of the development of the updated simulation by the National Maritime College of Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27786/22]

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Táimid ar ais arís ar Inis Meáin agus an chéibh ansin, an Caladh Mór. Is í mo cheist arís agus i gcónaí ná cad é stádas na forbartha atá beartaithe? Tá a fhios agam go raibh an tAire ar an oileán ach cá bhfuilimid faoi láthair? What is the status of the promised development of an Caladh Mór? Where is that development in terms of the studies that were promised? I was looking forward to hearing that they are completed or to hearing a date for their completion.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I know this is something the Deputy has raised with me on a number of occasions. The development of the Caladh Mór pier on Inis Meáin is included in the NDP. As the Deputy will be aware, Galway County Council is responsible for the development of stage 3 of this project. As part of the preparatory works, the National Maritime College of Ireland was requested by Galway County Council to develop a model simulation for the harbour. The council has collated the technical specifications of the key vessels that use the harbour and this data will be fed into the simulation. It is hoped that the simulation will be completed and tested, with feedback given, by the end of August. To feed into this process, additional bathymetric studies are also to be carried out in the harbour to gather further data. This will be a multi-beam mapping survey, which will be highly detailed, but which requires suitable conditions to be carried out. Galway County Council advised my Department at a meeting between officials last week that, due to unsettled weather and marine conditions, the bathymetric survey has not yet been completed. It is hoped that conditions will settle in the next week or so, allowing for completion of the survey. Once this work has been completed, Galway County Council will incorporate the findings into a draft business case. Following on from this, my Department will be in a position to evaluate the next steps in the process.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank the Minister for the strength of her reply. We will put it into context. In 2008, phases 1 and 2 of this work started and 14 years later, my colleagues from Galway West and I are attempting to keep the pressure on and get dates. We know the work is complicated. The Minister has been out to the islands herself and she knows the impact that the state of this pier has on business. There is a fantastic business out there, Cniotáil Inis Meáin, that is directly affected with cargo coming in and out. She knows about this; I do not need to say it to her. Each time we ask there is a further delay and the bad weather is interfering with it now. Are we on target to have all the information and studies necessary by August? That will feed into the business case then. When will the business case be ready? Tá sé sin tuillte ag muintir na hoileán ag an bpointe seo, nach bhfuil?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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We need the draft business case from Galway County Council and these different surveys have to feed into it. To be honest with the Deputy, I had to ask my officials what a bathymetric report is. Apparently it measures the depth of the waters, the underwater features and the marine species. It is a mapping of the sea floor. I am asking the same questions the Deputy is asking. She has raised this with me frequently and I have asked my officials the same questions such as how long it takes to do these reports. It is hard to give a timeline because they are technical matters that are time-consuming but I have told my officials to sit on Galway County Council and move this on and they are meeting officials from the council every two weeks. I am placing that sense of urgency on it. I understand the Deputy's frustration; I have been out on the island and I know the points she is making.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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The county councillors say they have to wait for the National Maritime College of Ireland in Cork. Whatever about our frustration the Minister can imagine the frustration on Inis Meáin. Deputy Kerrane has a question on the policy for the islands later, as do I. They have been waiting for a policy for the islands for a long time and an interdepartmental committee was set up in 1996. Then we had another interdepartmental committee set up three years ago and we are still waiting on that. This is a vital piece of infrastructure. The island is doing well with industry but it is being hampered by the inadequacy of the pier. Are there any indications to the Minister from the regular meetings? There are meetings every two weeks to keep the pressure on, which I appreciate. Is there any feedback from those meetings on what the issues are or is the bad weather the final issue with carrying out the bathymetric studies on depth?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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If I knew how to do these reports, I would do them myself and I am sure the Deputy would do the same because it seems to be going on and on.

Work has been done on the pier. As we know, it is dangerous for the ferry operators to come in when the tide is at a certain level. There is an issue impacting the cargo ferry in that there are many occasions on which large differences in the sea levels, created by the swell, prevent their docking safely at Inis Meáin. I know about the factory there, which is creating much-needed jobs. The fact vessels were being forced to travel on to Inis Mór, instead of docking at Inis Meáin, prompted the need for the National Maritime College of Ireland to model simulations to inform the business case. There is also the other report to which I referred.

I can only say to the Deputy that I am committed to pushing this on as quickly as I can. We must wait until we get the reports because there is no point in taking action again and not getting it right the second time. It is a complex issue and I understand the Deputy's frustration.

Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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As Deputy O'Connor is now in the Chamber, we will go back to Question No. 6.