by Damian Dowds, Inishowen Independent
SINN Féin councillor Pádraig Mac Lochlainn has
questioned the need for the construction of a
breakwater at Buncrana Pier. During a debate on the
breakwater at the recent Town Council meeting, where
it was revealed that the foreshore lease between
Donegal County Council and the Department of
Agriculture has still not been put in place, Cllr
MacLochlainn asked: “Why spend millions on a
breakwater when we can dredge and dump at sea? The
breakwater is totally unnecessary.”
Buncrana Town Council has supported the construction
of the breakwater and pledged €75,000 towards its
costs. Members have generally supported the
breakwater, saying that it is necessary to allow the
RNLI lifeboat based at the pier to launch at low
tide.
Cllr MacLochlainn said the Buncrana breakwater had
been debated during a recent meeting of Donegal
County Council where it was revealed that, contrary
to previous understandings, no special licence is
required to dump silt or other dredged materials at
sea.
Suggesting that the purchase a barge and dredging
equipment to keep the pier clear of silt build up
would be more economical, Cllr MacLochlainn asked,
“At a time of budgetary constraint, should we spend
millions on a breakwater?”
Fine Gael Councillor Peter McLaughlin said two
questions arose from Cllr Mac Lochlainn’s
suggestion. “Can it be dredged? And if so, when can
it be dredged?”
“This is an example of bureaucracy at its worst,”
said Fine Gael’s Paul Bradley. “There’s a political
undercurrent here too, between the marina at Fahan
and Buncrana.”
Town Mayor Dermot McLaughlin immediately replied
that Buncrana Town Council has no plans whatsoever
to develop a marina at or near the pier.
Earlier, Town Mayor Dermot McLaughlin told the
meeting that he had recently made representations to
Noel Dempsey, Minister for the Marine, to ensure
that the €900,000 allocated to the construction of
the breakwater in 2008 can be ‘rolled over’ to 2009
as it will not be drawn down before the end of this
year.
Assistant county manager Liam Kelly told the meeting
that conditions of the foreshore lease were offered
to Donegal County Council by the Department of
Agriculture in August, and the Council sent its
response on 3 November.
RNLI spokesman Joe Joyce was unwilling to comment on
the specifics of the debate at the Council meetings.
However, he pointed out that the organisation’s base
at the pier is temporary and reviewed annually. “The
facility won’t be made permanent until such time as
we have good launch conditions,” he said. “We cannot
launch at low tides and we’re limited with what we
can do with the vessel currently based there.
However, there are plans to upgrade the vessel when
the breakwater is completed.”
The Lough Swilly lifeboat covers the sea area from
Tory Island to Inishowen Head that lies smack bang
in the middle of busy aircraft flight paths.
Statistics released by the RNLI earlier this year
revealed that the Swilly station was the third
busiest in Ireland, launching 35 times so far in
2008. |
