Service Availability and Development among Ireland's Island Communities — the Implications for Population Stability

Abstract

The depopulation of Ireland's off-shore islands has, in the past, been linked to problems of serviee deprivation. Considerable inroads have been made in the past thirty years in addressing the latter issue. The implications for the former are perhaps not as obvious as some observers have suggested. The islands have faced relatively acute levels of deprivation and their own peculiar set of problems by virtue of problems of transport provision to the mainland and accessibility to the most basic of services, namely electricity, water and education facilities. In a survey conducted between 1990 and 1991 the author attempted to investigate the issue of service provision on nine Irish islands. A prime focus of the research was the perception of islanders concerning service levels. This paper examines how a range of services and facilities has changed since the early 1970s and analyses the islanders' perception of the adequacy of the level of services. The question of a link between change to services and perceptions towards them with population decline is discussed.