Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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It is a core policy of my Department to support the sustainable development of the offshore islands. My Department is the principal Department charged with island development by supporting the improvement of infrastructure and assisting with the provision of essential services.

My Department subsidises lifeline transport services for the inhabited offshore islands. These comprise passenger and cargo ferry services with a connecting bus service, where necessary, in addition to an air service for the Aran Islands. In the years 2011, 2012 and 2013, my Department spent €3.56m, €0.78m and €0.68m respectively on island and island related infrastructure. An allocation of €0.644m has been provided to my Department for this purpose in 2014. In the years 2011, 2012 and 2013, expenditure on supporting transport services was €5.9m, €6.1m and €5.9m respectively. An allocation of €5.9m has been provided to my Department for this purpose in 2014. I might also mention that, since 1997, my Department approved expenditure in the region of €120m on island infrastructure. As a result, island life has improved considerably and populations on many offshore islands have stabilised or increased.

In addition, my Department is the lead partner in relation to the Aran LIFE project which is being core funded by the EU under the LIFE programme and which is aimed at generating more sustainable farming practices on the Aran Islands. The project has a net value of €2.6m and will run for four years from 2014.