Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Are there any costs being borne by Galway County Council in respect of the construction of the pier on Inis Mór? My understanding is that the council took out a foreshore licence to construct the pier. Then, instead of paying it down in cash, the council is paying for it on the never-never.

The county council, in turn, is trying to get the islanders to pay for the foreshore licence. This is the equivalent of asking train passengers to pay for the rail station platform. The Department initially had an arrangement that it would pay the main cost while the county councils paid a small contribution. Could the Department view this as a capital item which could be paid as a once-off? The Department has plenty of money washing around that it cannot spend. It could simply go out of the Department and over to the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform would not need to know because he would have €400,000 going out and €400,000 going in.

Galway County Council got a rush of blood to its head and decided to charge the islanders for the use of the platform called a pier. This is the equivalent of asking train passengers to pay for the use of a railway platform.