Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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340. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her plans to put the airstrips in Cleggan and Inisbofin, County Galway into operation to provide an air service to Inishbofin and to provide a connection between the two airports and the airport in An Caisleán, Connemara, County Galway; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21885/20]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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341. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the annual cost of the maintenance contract on the airstrips in Cleggan and Inishbofin, County Galway; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21886/20]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 340 and 341 together.

My Department has a management contract in place to provide insurance, security and maintenance at these sites at an annual cost of €6,000 (€3,000 per site). The airstrips are currently not licenced by the IAA and may not be used for air operations.

While there are no plans at present to provide an air service linking Cleggan, Inishbofin and Aerfort Chonamara, my Department has received requests from the Coast Guard and the HSE to transfer parcels of land within these sites, at Cleggan and Inishbofin respectively, to facilitate development of certain facilities.

While these projects are still in early stages of development, my Department is generally amenable to these requests provided any such developments would not prejudice the future use of either location for the provision of air services.