Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

18. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the position regarding the provision of an improved landing facility on An Blascaod Mór; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45698/21]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

An Blascaod Mór is a nationally significant heritage site due to the important literary and cultural output of its tiny community in the first half of the 20th century and the substantial collection of books – nearly 100 in all - that have been written about life on the Blasket Islands in the past century. An Blascaod Mór is also part of the Blasket Islands Special Area of Conservation with the highest level of environmental protection. The State purchased the majority of the holdings on the island in 2009 and the OPW has restored a number of the houses on the island since then. Ionad an Bhlascaoid, (the Blasket Centre), located on the mainland at Dun Chaoin, was built in 1993 as a cultural centre to present and interpret the extraordinary cultural and literary heritage of the Blasket Islands to visitors. It receives in excess of 100,000 visitors per annum and is currently being substantially upgraded by the Office of Public Works with support from Fáilte Ireland as a flagship visitor destination on the Wild Atlantic Way.

The Great Blasket Island, An Blascaod Mór, is a key visitor destination for the Dingle Peninsula. In 2018, the OPW introduced a guided visitor service on the Island and in 2019 almost 10,000 visitors were recorded as having visited the Island. Ferries operate from Dún Chaoin, Ceann Trá and Dingle but landing facilities for visitors arriving to the Island are very basic and require the transhipment of passengers by dinghy from ferry to a slipway on the island. The provision of improved landing facilities at An Blascaod Mór has been an objective of successive governments for many years and improvement of access facilities is an objective of the Fáilte Ireland Visitor Development Experience Plan published earlier this year.

Improved landing facilities, whereby boats could embark and disembark passengers directly to the island are desirable for two reasons: one being safety and the other as an essential element in the sustainable management of the island from heritage, tourism and environmental points of view. While ferry services are confined to licensed vessels with specific tender permits, it is not currently possible to manage access and visitor numbers to achieve a balance between sustainable tourism access and maintaining the fragile environmental balance of the island.

Planning permission was granted to Kerry County Council in 2003 for a pier at An Blascaod Mór but this project did not proceed at the time. The OPW has been advised by Kerry County Council that a fresh process of securing planning for a pier would now be required given changed circumstances concerning environmental protection in the interim.

The OPW has engaged with key stakeholders including Fáilte Ireland, Kerry County Council and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in recent years to agree a way to progress the planning of a revised project for An Blascaod Mór. The OPW also made a funding application to the Rural Regeneration Development Fund in 2019 to secure funds to bring to planning a suitable proposal for a new pier at An Blascaod More but this application was not successful. I assure the Deputy that this project continues to be one of great importance to the OPW in order to secure safe access for visitors and to protect the unique landscape of the Island into the future.