Arranmore Island, County Donegal, 3 Islands Federation (ESIN)
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2015-10-30 ENERGY CHECK ON ÁRRAIN MHÓR The Árrain Mhór lighthouse is located at Rinn Ramharois Point at the north west corner of the island Energy check on Árrain Mhór 1 Introduction 2 2 The islanders 3 3 Governance 7 4 The island as a platform 8 5 Thinking out of the box 12 1 (15) ENERGY CHECK ON ÁRRAIN MHÓR Christian Pleijel [email protected] Tel +358-457-342 88 25 ENERGY AUDIT ON ÁRRAIN MHÒR 1 Introduction In 2013, Arrain Mhór joined the study Analysis of an insular system and SMILEGOV1 project through its mem- its resources. A contribution to the bership in Irish Islands Federation and elaboration of a development strategy subsequently in the European Small for Arranmore Island, county Donegal, 3 Islands Federation (ESIN). The objec- Ireland , Alyne Delaney’s Donegal Is- tives of SMILEGOV, funded by the Eu- lands Survival Plan4, the Árrrain Mhór ropean Commission, is to establish a Energy Plan 2012-2031 from the IRDA 5 clear picture of the island’s energy project and desktop research, this consumption, its emissions and how it compilation has been done by Senior is it supplied with energy, moving into Advisor Christian Pleijel, Vice Presi- an action plan for a more sustainable dent of ESIN (European Small Islands future, and to invite the island to join Federation). the Pact of Islands2. Islands are miniatures of the world, With Árrain Mhór, the work has been solitary, clearly separated from the a broad attempt to understand the mainland by the sea. Being small, dis- context in which energy is a possible tant and vulnerable, Árrain Mhór focus of development. The description needs to plan and develop itself in a of the island starts with the people, subtle and continuous manner, han- continues with the political system dling the complexity of people, politics and ends with the island as a geo- and infrastructure. graphical, technical platform for the islanders. Kind of backways, not just September 2015, describing the island as a place, a geo- graphical location defined by area and Christian Pleijel location, roads and ferries; Neither the island as just a theatre where people try to get on with each other and settle local disputes over grazing, ferry time- tables, water costs, pollution, tourism 3 Loncle N, 2006. Analysis of an insular system taxes and subsidies, linking them to and its resources. A contribution to the elaborat- their masters on the mainland and in ion of a development strategy for Arranmore Island, county Donegal, Ireland. Thesis of a the Brussels. Master course in Land Management, Develop- ment, Environment, Insitut de Géoarchitecture, This is a check – an audit – rather than Université de Bretagne Occidentale a plan, based on existing documenta- 4 www.a-turning-tide-in-the-life-of-man- tion such as Nicolas Loncle’s excellent film.eu/fts/23350 5 http://enrd.ec.europa.eu/enrdstatic/policy- in-action / 1 http:/www.sustainableislands.eu/ rdp_view/en/view_project_9320_en.html 2 http://www.islepact.eu/html/index.aspx 2 (15) ENERGY CHECK ON ÁRRAIN MHÓR ENERGY AUDIT ON ÁRRAIN MHÓR Map of Árrain Mhór, slightly revised after Loncle (2005) 2 The islanders Árrain Mhór – in English Arranmore and most are within a few hundred – lies 5 kilometres off the northwest meters. The islands have no local coast of Ireland. It is the second larg- autonomy, each being a part of an est island in Ireland covering 22 km2. adjacent mainland county. The island is part of Donegal County. Population It is said there are 365 islands Árrain Mhór has a resident popula- around the coast of Ireland – one for tion of 514 (2011), down from 543 in each day of the year. Excluding is- 2001, 596 in 1991, over 800 in 1981 lands which are uninhabited or are and 948 in 1961 – 50 years ago. The connected by bridges to the main- population grows to 1,500 during land, the total is 53. Many of these summer when ex-pat families return are inhabited by only a handful of and visitors arrive. people. All of them are close to the At the end of the 17th Century, Árrain coast: none is more than 13 km from Mhór was a centre for herring fisher- the nearest point on the mainland ies, with over 1,000 people employed 3 (15) ENERGY CHECK ON ÁRRAIN MHÓR ENERGY AUDIT ON ÁRRAIN MHÒR in the industry. However, in the mid- for women. Without these returns, 1800s a combination of clearance by population levels and demographic the landowner and famine hit the structures would probably be really population hard and many families critical. left for the New World. Now, traditional fishing and agricul- ture have declined significantly. The age profile of islanders is increasing and there is a high dependency on social welfare and other state sup- ports. A quarter of islanders are un- employed and there is 56% male unemployment. Trade & Industry Enterprises started on the island in- cludes a textile industry that had to close 1979 because of the general Agriculural land use and fallow land, Loncle, page57 industry crisis, a bakery shut 1991, a Fifty years ago, sustainable subsist- craft shop that faced insufficient ence farming was still part of life: market, mussel farming that was farming, fishing, using turf/peat as a closed in 1998 because of azaspira- local fuel source, money sent home cid toxin and bad weather condi- from abroad was 50% of Ireland’s tions, bicycles to rent, holiday homes, GDP in the 1950’s. lighthouse accommodation, Irish Emigration has always been a fact of language courses facing limited mar- island life, still is today. To succeed ket and concurrence and a tele call you must leave the island. Some- centre running for two years 2002- times you leave your wife and family 2004. at home. The weakness or the ab- The Tele Call centre sence of employment structures The tele call centre the Tele Airann obliged the islanders to follow the Teo was supposed to create 20 traditional way of emigration. But fulltime jobs after 18 months. A pri- emigration is often temporary. After vate company based in Sligo was years away, emigrants came back to managing the project in partnership settle on the island at different times with five state agencies. Islanders of life. were trained to telemarketing before Returning migrants have generally the start-up date but the enterprise worked in tunnelling and construc- only lasted two years and employed tion for men; hotel and factory work no more than seven people. 4 (15) ENERGY CHECK ON ÁRRAIN MHÓR ENERGY AUDIT ON ÁRRAIN MHÓR Problems faced by the enterprise - two hotels and the youth hostel, were of different nature: technologi- 100 beds cal (no internet broadband), difficul- - the holiday village with 8 self- ties of recruitment and retention of catering houses, and 4 other self- staff for telesales, inadequate staff catering, all in all some 100 beds; competence, the cost of the daily fer- ry travel made it difficult to recruit a - 14 B&B, more than 100 beds as some owners also take Irish College manager but nontheless manage- ment was by an outsider and ”the students. arrival of a stranger on small islands Services especially to set up a business is gen- Árrain Mhór manages to keep service erally looked distrustfully”6. at a fairly high level although being Deception was proportional to the well below the threshold populations hopes placed into the project by the for shops/services as defined by An main partners Údarás na Gaeltachta Foras Forbartha (an Irish state agen- and Arranmore Island Co-Op as an cy which became the Environmental enterprise such as this was seen as Protection Agency in 1992) 7: the only type of business that was passing over the problems of over- cost of ferry travel, and then could be competitive. ulation ulation Average op threshold Service on The project was not conducted mere- p pop ly in a commercial logic. The main Árrain Mhór Árrain Mhór socio-economic objective was to cre- ate employment. Small shop 150 2 Tourism Primary school 700 2 Tourism is the only growing activity although building and the health sec- Post Office 1 500 1 Under tor are giving on the island but it is Library 2 000 600 Delivery difficult to create new jobs. dwellers Doctor 2 000 1 There are 300 beds on the island and they are generally all occupied in Regular summer. Half of the capacity is con- Dentist 3 000 visits centrated in Leabgarrow, half is Seconday spread until Ploghoe. Acommodation School 4 000 1 types are: 7 http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/downsi 6 Nicolas Loncle de-of-one-off-rural-housing-1.376468 5 (15) ENERGY CHECK ON ÁRRAIN MHÓR ENERGY AUDIT ON ÁRRAIN MHÒR Advantages and problems In his 2006 study, Nicolas Loncle He also asked them: ”in your made a questionnaire, asking the opinion,what are the main problems islanders about the principal ad- faced by Árrain Mhór (146 vantages of living on the island (145 resondents): respondents): Source: Loncle, apendixVII Source: Loncle, apendixVII 6 (15) ENERGY CHECK ON ÁRRAIN MHÓR ENERGY AUDIT ON ÁRRAIN MHÓR 3 Governance CPMR islands expert Jean-Didier ture. Main roads are Hache wrote in 2000: under Council compe- tency but on delegation « In their vast majority, the European to Arranmore Island States having responsibilities over Co-op ) islands have acknowledged – albeit in Udaras na Gaeltachta many varying ways – that these terri- (financing of individual tories were deserving some form of projects) special consideration in political and Irish islands Comhdháil Oileáin na administrative terms.