On page 43 of the programme for Government in the section on rural development the Government promised to implement a regional jobs plan to help to spread growth to all areas, including the islands. The Sherkin Island Development Association has worked with the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork County Council to co-fund the running of a BA course in the visual arts on Sherkin Island since 2012. It has been hugely successful for the island and created jobs and an economic boom in the off-season. The local authority promised to provide €20,000 each year in partnership with the DIT and the Department, but it is reneging on its promise and will now only give €10,000, which will lead to the collapse of the course. I ask the Taoiseach to personally intervene to save the course for the people of Sherkin Island and surrounding islands as it provides a unique opportunity for them.

The Department is engaging with the group on Sherkin Island, with which I am familiar. When I was on the island, I met the group and it is a great project. As the Deputy pointed out, there was a history and precedent of Cork County Council funding part of the programme. We will continue to consult the island community and need some pathway to a solution. We do not have it, but perhaps the Deputy might influence Cork County Council which could be a way forward.