Cork County Council is seeking to install the pontoon to create ease of access for the islands population and to cater for the increase in summer vessels visiting the area.

Separately, €550,000 has also been ring-fenced this year for the local improvements scheme on offshore islands, which supports the upgrading of rural roads and laneways.

Works have also been completed in rural areas surrounding Carrigaline, Templemartin, Midleton and across the Beara peninsula.

The volunteer lifeboat crew launched at 5.46pm, following a request from the Irish Coast Guard to carry nine firefighters to Heir Island.

The run takes place on Saturday, August 9, and the starting gun will sound at 2.30pm.

The initiative, which is a community-centred arts development programme, was established by Cork County Council in 2023 for the seven inhabited islands of Oileán Chléire, Sherkin, Heir, Long, Whiddy, Bere and Dursey.

The Bere Island Project Group, which oversees community development projects on Bere Island, Whiddy Island and Dursey Island, is under threat due to a lack of funding, a meeting heard.