The Estimates provide €10 million for the islands, which some might say is a considerable sum of money. However, that is in the context of the fact that 254,000 people, a vast number of whom are tourists, visit Ireland every year. The importance of the Aran Islands to Galway city and Ireland as a tourist destination is the equivalent to the Boyne Valley or Glendalough in the east and their attraction and positive image of Galway means this expenditure must be put into context.