€500,000 cost to run Skellig Michael

By Anne Lucey

New figures released on request by the Office of Public Works reveal the yearly cost of running Skellig Michael is over €500,000.

But no income is accrued by the OPW from the thousands of visitors who land on the fragile Unesco World Heritage monastic site. And, further, there is no permit charges to the boatmen who ferry visitors to the island.

A landmark in recent Star Wars movies, the Atlantic island off Valentia in Kerry is considered one of the greatest remote sites of early Christendom.

A record number of visitors has been witnessed in recent years due to its global exposure through Hollywood.

Getting there costs between €85 and €100 per person in fees to licensed boat operators for the 45-minute journey across the 11.5km sea journey.

However, the OPW confirmed: “The annual cost of manning and managing the site is approximately €510,000.”

Five resident guides and three masons work seasonally to respectively assist visitors and carry out maintenance works on the dry stone steps and structures.

Two general operatives also work on the island which opens between mid-May and September 30.

Currently, a total of 15 boats, mainly 12-seaters, operate under permits which are tendered for annually.

Such is the demand for access, a €5 fee is being charged by some operators to filter out the genuine enquirer and help manage the numbers on some of the online waiting lists.

The OPW confirmed that no permit fees apply to the boat operators who are granted a permit.

The OPW also does not collect a fee from visitors.

Garnish Island in West Cork

Significantly, in the OPW-managed Garnish Island in West Cork — world-renowned for its gardens — a ferry fee applies for the 1.5km crossing by private operators and, separately, an entrance fee of €5 per adult.

In Kerry, meanwhile, most of the bookings for the monastic island are online, according to boatman Seanie Murphy who operates SkelligsRock.com.

He said demand had risen in recent years not solely due to Star Wars but because of the successful marketing strategy by Fáilte Ireland of the Wild Atlantic Way.

Skellig Michael has no facilities, such as a tea house or toilets, for visitors during the normal 2.5-hour visit.

Heritage watchdog An Taisce which has expressed concern over the numbers now being allowed onto the 6th-century monastic site said it condones the ‘no fee’ visitor charge due to it being a Unesco-designated site.

Latest figures available from the OPW point to almost 7,000 visitors this year, up to July 5.

Last year, the unique site hosted 16,755 visitors, a reported 5,000 more than in 2015.

An Taisce’s Charles Stanley-Smith said there was “a continuous rise in numbers of people on what is a fragile and unique site”.

He said the increasing numbers are far in excess of the suggested 11,000 visitors under the management plan presented to Unesco in 2008.

However, the OPW insisted it constantly monitored the numbers which “fall within the range of what is recognised as an acceptable and sustainable number.”