PODCAST: West Cork islands in crisis

A RECENT report from UCC said that West Cork's seven islands face being abandoned like the Blaskets were in the 50s.

Residents on the islands face numerous issues, with one of the main problems highlighted in the report being a lack of housing. People say that they are concerned for the future of younger generations and that many people will have to move to the mainland if changes aren't made.

Emma Connolly, deputy editor of The Southern Star has been reporting on this issue since the publishing of the report, and joins us on the podcast today to go into more detail on its findings.

In our previous episode we focused on how the housing crisis is affecting older people in West Cork, and this episode shows again that the issues affect all parts of society, with residents on the islands facing huge challenges going forward.

Presented and produced by Dylan Mangan with reporting by Emma Connolly.

Thanks for listening to The Southern Star's In The News Podcast. Please be sure to like, share and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

For more on this story pick up a copy of this week's Southern Star or subscribe online via www.southernstar.ie/epaper.