Councillor Mac Giolla Easbuig walks out of Coiste na nOileáin Islands Committee

Independent Councillor Micheál Mac Giolla Easbuig this morning walked out of the Coiste na nOileáin Islands Committee.

Mac Giolla Easbuig has, for the last two years, been pushing for a meeting to take place between the likes of Údarás na Gaeltachta, the fishing communities, the island communities and the community centre. 

However, he expressed his disappointment that there are not enough staff in place to apply for necessary funding. 

“Today I walked out of a meeting of Coiste Na hOilean, Comhairle Chontae Dún Na nGall in protest,” he said. “It’s because of the failure of our senior management to deliver on the promises that they gave in relation to Machaire Rabhartaigh and my efforts to try and bring people together along with government agencies to work towards a masterplan in one of the most beautiful parts of our county.

“This, I believe, will benefit the coastal community, the fishing community, and the island community. Since their promise at the previous meeting,  they have failed to deliver anything of value. As part of my protest, I was also highlighting that we don't have the resources to carry out the necessary work in our coastal communities and islands.  I've written to the council requesting that additional staff be provided so that more funding can be sought. 

“This is funding that I have been led to believe is available if we have more staff in place. We have fantastic staff, but they are being undermined by not being given the necessary resources. More importantly, our community is being failed by Comhairle Chontae Dún Na nGall in relation to this. It is bad enough that continuous Fianna Fáil/ Fine Gael government policies have failed our coastal, island, and fishing communities.

“We were promised at the last meeting that there isn’t efficient staff to apply for funding, which I am led to believe is available. I recognise some things are getting done but we’re just repeating and some things are getting done, but not everything.”

Previously discussions took place over a number of issues, like a ferry boat to deliver supplies to small islands, toilets at Machaire Rabhartaigh pier, a winch for Tory Island, and an area to paint boats and shelters.