IT is fair to say that Scotland’s ferry network has been a bit of a mixed bag in recent years, with the service as reliable as a calm day on the Minch.

The much publicised delays in delivering two new ferries for Arran has heaped intolerable pressure on an already decrepit fleet that has frequently left islanders high and dry.

Well, given that it’s the west coast of Scotland, nobody is ever left dry but you get the drift.

But it seems that the nightmare may finally be about to end thanks in no small part to a change in government.

Not the one you may think either given the general hullabaloo and fanfare surrounding Sir Keir Starmer’s election to Downing Street.

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It is fair to say that John’ Swinney’s election as First Minister in May has led to a re-setting of Scottish Government priorities - and not before time either.

In the near decade long tenure of Nicola Sturgeon, a sense of inertia had fallen across the government who seemed hell-bent on doing absolutely nothing at all - and doing even that badly.

This was followed by her hapless anointed successor Humza Yousaf who seemed to have even less of a clue about what makes Scotland and Scots tick.

The result was that crucial infrastructure projects dried up and rural Scotland seemed to have been left behind by a Glasgow-centric and central belt dominated Cabinet.

Now that appears to be changing as Mr Swinney and, in particular, his deputy Kate Forbes have started to implement vital plans.

It is no coincidence that both represent vast rural constituencies so understand the unique challenges that these areas face and are reacting accordingly.

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The nationalised Ferguson Marine shipyard has received £14m to upgrade the facilities so it can try and compete in the marketplace for future orders now that the disaster-hit ferries are nearly done.

But ministers ministers ruled out directly awarding contracts for seven new ferries to state-owned Ferguson Marine.

Kate Forbes said UK-wide legislation meant that doing so and not putting the small vessels out to tender would introduce “substantial risks and uncertainties for the shipyard.”

Unions and local politicians had previously urged the government to bypass the open competition to safeguard the future of the state owned yard.

While that plea was rebuffed, Ms Forbes did announce a £14.2m investment in the Inverclyde-based firm “to improve productivity and build a sustainable future.”

The money will be used to “support the yard’s modernisation and improve productivity” which should mean Ferguson Marine is in a position to bid for the ferries.

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CalMac will also undergo several changes which will be a “catalyst for improvement” of services for passengers, Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop has announced this week.

In recent weeks, the dualling of the A9 has also gathered pace after seemingly years of obfuscation which resulted in nothing being done - with the war in Ukraine even being blamed at one point.

While all these are just baby steps at the moment, it is clear that Ms Forbes has been given the brief to just get on with improving things.

At long last it appears this is a Government intent on doing rather than talking and that has to be welcomed.