Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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10. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the proposals his Department is working on in conjunction with the National Transport Authority, NTA, and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport to deliver on the improvement of roads on offshore islands; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25724/18]

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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I am somewhat flummoxed at the thought of the Minister not knowing everyone in Westport. He has received a submission from my colleague, Mr. Seamus Rodgers, a former councillor in Donegal who is concerned about the islands. There has done much work for islands not only off the coast of Donegal but off the west coast. There are some islands in the Minister's area and he knows the cost associated with maintaining the road networks for the island communities. It is much more expensive than it is for inland communities.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his question. Statutory responsibility for the development and improvement of roads, including those on offshore islands, lies with my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. However, since 2017, my Department has funded a local improvement scheme, which is a scheme for carrying out improvement works on private-non-public roads. Often these roads lead to multiple houses, parcels of land that support agricultural activity, or amenities such as lakes, rivers or beaches.

The scheme is funded by my Department and delivered in conjunction with the county councils which administer it and carry out the improvement works. The county councils assess and prioritise the roads for improvement works and advise my Department of the projects they intend to carry out within their funding allocations. A local contribution is also made to the cost of the works.

It is solely the responsibility of the local authorities to select and prioritise the road projects that will received local improvement scheme funding in their areas, including on the offshore islands, in line with the scheme criteria and the council's funding allocation.

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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The allocation is not sufficient, as it takes much more resources to repair roads on the offshore islands. It is vital we provide supports for access and egress for the islands. The road network is vital for our island communities in terms of transport, employment and fisheries. The local authorities may allocate funding to the islands but it might only cover the cost of road maintenance for 1 km of road compared to 2 km elsewhere because of the significant impact of erosion on the islands. We want to ensure the sustainability of our islands to enable people to live on them. The former councillor, Seamus Rodgers made a detailed submission to the Minister. I ask him to review it to ensure some progress and to work in collaboration with the NTA, which might not be aware of our islands, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and the local authorities. The Minister's Department is critical and pivotal in ensuring and highlighting the importance of our island communities and the protection and enhancement of facilities, including the road infrastructure.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. There are three islands in my constituency, although I acknowledge there are not many in the midlands.

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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There are none.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I compliment my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Kyne who opened up a scheme for the islands. Deputy Penrose was correct in pointing out that the islands incur extra costs to transport materials in and out of them. I would like co-operation between the local authorities, the Departments of Transport, Tourism and Sport and Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and my Department. The Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh, has responsibility for both Gaeltacht and non-Gaeltacht islands. There should be a scheme to assist island communities. They are a special case and have a special need. It is important we maintain and look after our islands. They are a great tourist attraction and we want people to live and work on them and to be able to travel on roads of a good standard. I lobbied for island communities in recent years, as I have three islands in my constituency. The Minister of State, Deputy Kyne, opened up a scheme when he had responsibility for the Gaeltacht. We had other plans and we hope to continue with them.

Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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Just in case we get stranded on an island here, I ask the Minister and the Deputy if they would be agreeable for us to move on.

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Yes.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Yes.