The regeneration of Gola Island moved a step closer this week when a plan to bring electricity to the west Donegal island was announced.
However, as investment in infrastructure and interest in the development of holiday homes on the island grow, the sole licensed ferry operator serving Gola is having difficulty securing funding to upgrade his vessel.
The Minister of State for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms Mary Coughlan, confirmed a funding package this week between the ESB and Roinn na Gaeltachta to bring power to Gola for the first time. The electricity connection is expected to be completed within 18 months.
Conan and Charles O Breisleain and Tina Blake, who operate the Gola Island ferry from Bunbeg, last year carried 1,800 visitors to the island. However, despite their best efforts they have not as yet secured the necessary funding to upgrade the ferry to conform with new legislation.
The 500-acre island was abandoned in the late 1960s when numbers dwindled and the primary school closed. There have been no permanent residents since, although a Scottish architect and his Icelandic wife have sensitively restored a cottage on the island as a holiday home.
A number of people are also restoring some of the abandoned cottages, and grants are available from Roinn na Gaeltachta for the restoration and construction of new houses there.
Speaking at the announcement of the plan to bring electricity to Gola, Ms Coughlan said: "By the time this programme of work is completed, 14 new islands will be connected to the national grid as well as a vastly improved level of service being made available to Tory and Arranmore islands".
The unspoiled beauty and spectacular scenery of Gola last year attracted more visitors than ever. In keeping with Government policy to regenerate many offshore islands, substantial funding has been invested in Gola's roads and piers aimed at bringing people back there to live even if only during the summer.
Mr O Breisleain expressed frustration this week about his efforts to acquire the funding to upgrade the ferry service. "Udaras na Gaeltachta will not or cannot fund a boat on the basis that it is a mobile asset. How are we supposed to promote the islands and marine tourism if boats are not funded to get there? "There is no access to Gola Island now which contradicts Sile de Valera's plan to regenerate and populate the islands. Udar as has said the island is 100 per cent Gaeltacht, yet there are no residents there," Mr O Breisleain added.
This week he lodged his business plan to upgrade the ferry service with North West Tourism and is hoping for a positive response. Mr Denis Doyle of North West Tourism said he would view access to the island as a priority. He would like to see some of the vacant houses on Gola refurbished to Bord Failte standards for self-catering holidays and would give all the help he could.
An island co-op has been formed by a number of former residents and non-residents, and plans are under way to turn the former school house into an Irish-language school.
A planning application has been lodged for a coffee shop and interpretative centre, and plans have also been mooted for a heritage centre to depict the island's history.
While representatives of Roinn na Gaeltachta and Udar as na Gaeltachta acknowledge that a ferry service to Gola is vital for its future development, neither of these funding bodies can provide the money to assist the existing operator to meet the new legislation.
Mr Seamus Boyle, of Roinn na Gaeltachta, this week praised the quality of the ferry service operated by Mr O Breisleain, but explained that under existing policy they could only provide a subvention for ferries operating to inhabited islands like Tory and Arranmore.
Because Gola's visitors came predominantly in summer the service was more tourist-orientated. "Mr O Breisleain is providing a valuable service for tourists and for the people who live on the island during the summer. This service would need to be looked at by the tourist board," Mr Coyle said.
Mr Cathal McSuibhne of Udar as na Gaeltachta said ferry services to the islands were split under various organisations, and responsibility now lay with Roinn na Gaeltachta. "There is definitely a buzz about Gola with people trying to restore houses there. Access is vital, and Mr O Breisleain is the only operator to the island," Mr McSuibhne added.