merrion street

Government Chief Whip and Minister of State for the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Islands Seán Kyne TD today announced the date of the inaugural meeting of the newly established Interdepartmental Committee on Island Development.

Announcing the date of the first meeting, Minister of State Seán Kyne said:

“Having visited the islands and having met with individuals, communities, island representative organisations, Oireachtas members and other public representatives, I know the great significance of our islands to our heritage and to our language.  I have seen the vibrancy and the resilience of island communities.  I also know of the support that island communities need to continue to be sustainable and to realise their potential.

In recent years, priority has been given to the development of island infrastructure as well as subsidising access services to the islands.  This has been important ongoing work and the quality of life of the island populations has improved significantly as a result. 

I am looking forward to working with colleagues across all of the relevant Government Departments to develop a cross-Government Islands Policy with an associated Action Plan.  However, in order to tackle the challenges that island communities face, some of which are unique to islands, the Government has approved the establishment of an interdepartmental Group which I will chair”.

The first meeting will be held on 24 September 2019, and the work of the committee will be underpinned by a comprehensive consultation process with the island communities to ensure that island voices are at the heart of the resulting policy and action plan.