Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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4. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development further to Parliamentary Question No. 102 of 27 October 2022, the status of the new policy for the islands; if the policy and action plan are on track to be finalised by the end of 2022; the timeline for the publication of the new policy and action plan; the date of the last meeting of the interdepartmental committee; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62557/22]

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Baineann mo cheist arís eile leis an bpolasaí atá beartaithe do na hoileáin ar fud ár gcósta. Cá bhfuil an polasaí sin? Cá bhfuil an plean gníomhaíochta? I, along with my colleagues, will follow this up. Where is the policy for the islands? It has been promised over and over. It was to be published by the end of summer and then by the end of this year. Where is it?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Connolly. I know this is something she is very committed to. As the Deputy is aware, the Government is committed to publishing a ten-year policy on island development with associated three-year action plans. The programme for Government includes a commitment in this regard. As Minister with responsibility for the islands I am determined to ensure the policy is delivered.

The Deputy is aware that an extensive consultation process has been completed by the Department including meetings with island communities and relevant Departments and agencies. The feedback from this consultation process provided a valuable insight into the key priorities, challenges and opportunities for our island communities. The Government's ambition for a national policy and action plan for the islands was set out in chapter 10 of Our Rural Future, the action plan for rural development published in 2021.

The most recent meeting of the interdepartmental committee for the islands, which is chaired by my Department, was held on 10 October 2022. The initial draft document was shared with committee members for their feedback and observations, both in terms of their Department's draft input and the overall document. Officials from my Department have had further engagement with individual Departments and agencies over the past few weeks, including meetings with the relevant local authorities, in order to finalise the actions for inclusion in the plan. This process has now been completed and the draft updated accordingly. I expect a copy of the draft document to submitted to me before the end of the year, with a view to its publication in 2023. Deputy Connolly asks me a lot about the islands policy. There has been extensive consultation on it. We are nearly there. As I have said, the officials have been engaging with their counterparts on the draft document in recent weeks. It is important that we get buy-in from other Departments. When I get the commitments I can hold their toes to the fire to make sure they deliver. We are nearly there. It is a very important document that has been awaited a long time.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I do not doubt the commitment of the Minister. I do not doubt that she is working very hard to see a policy produced but we have heard this for a very long time. In 2019 I tabled a motion in the Dáil. By comparison, in Scotland we see the population of the islands rising. We see a policy underpinned by legislation and proper resourcing. Here we have promises. I know the Minister has inherited this but we have promises. In the meantime, 70% of the population of the Gaeltacht islands is made up of Irish speakers. There has been a serious reduction in population over the time that various Governments have ignored them. Over and over, the island communities have told us they do not want charity. They have shown us how to have a resilient life. What they want is a co-ordinated plan with proper resources. I understand Deputy Kerrane has tabled a question on the LEADER programme. This directly affects the policy on the islands.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Connolly. The final draft will be submitted to me by the end of the year. We are very close to the end of the year and I want that draft. With regard to the next steps after that, I hope, if I am still here, to take the draft to a Cabinet committee early in the new year and then to the Government. What is most important is that we have a strong policy at the end of the process. It will be the first island policy in 26 years. It is important that we get it right. I have shown my commitment to the islands. I was the first Minister for Social Protection for many years to increase the island allowance. That was in my first budget in the Department. In Donegal there is a long-running issue with regard to the roads on the islands. I worked with the island community and Donegal County Council. We have the investment there. The roads have been transformed. I was on Arranmore during the summer at the annual AGM of Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann. There is positivity among the island community. I want to work with it. I appreciate the urgency of getting the policy sorted and up and running.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank the Minister. Without a doubt there is positivity on the islands. What is lacking is positivity on the part of the Government-----

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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No.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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-----notwithstanding the Minister's commitment. What I hear is the Minister telling me she will have the draft plan. The draft plan was there in October. It remains a draft almost three months later. I presume the Minister has not seen it yet and it has not landed on her desk. She is giving a commitment that it will be published. I would like this clarified. When will the action plan be published? There has never been a policy for the islands. There have been interdepartmental committees and any amount of reports. When I tabled the motion in the Dáil I had them all before me on the day. I emphasise that I do not doubt the commitment of the Minister but we need action. We need a policy. In the meantime decisions are being made on LEADER funding about which the island representatives are most unhappy. They were certainly not positive in the audiovisual Room when they made a presentation there six weeks ago.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Connolly. I will address the issue on LEADER in response to a later question. No islander is putting us under pressure to get this done. What they are putting us under pressure for is a policy document with actions that will deliver and make a difference to their lives. This is what they tell us. I will get the draft submitted to me by the end of the year. The next step will be that I go through it because I have to make sure that I am happy with it. Much work has gone into it. What is most important is that there are policies and actions to underpin how the policies will be delivered. Every Department must buy-in and commit. It is across Government and we have put a large amount of work into working with officials from other Departments. When they say they will do something in various areas, whether housing, which I know is a big issue on the islands, education or health services, I want them to be very clear on what they have to do so we can hold them to account and make sure they deliver.