John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I enjoyed my visit to Howth very much at the invitation of the chamber of commerce and I compliment it on the fantastic facility there, the beautiful region and the whole opportunity for business. The Government is very committed to small businesses, which are the backbone of the Irish economy, in particular, restaurants and pubs. We fully recognise that the 200,000 small companies and businesses are the engine that will drive our economy forward. This is the reason we are so concerned and have put so many initiatives in place to support business.

I am taking this issue on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Coveney. The House will be aware that the Minister has been considering introducing a charge for parking facilities within Howth fishery harbour centre for some time. This is being done so as to assist in operating Howth fishery harbour centre on a financially sound basis, to provide a source of revenue for further investments in the fishery harbour centre facilities, as part of an overall traffic management plan to bring order to what has become a source of concern to the harbour authorities and the emergency services and in order to maximise the return on this significant State asset.

Howth fishery harbour centre is first and foremost a working fishery harbour, one of six operated by the State, each of whose primary purpose is to provide facilities and services for the fishing industry and fisheries-related activities. Funding for operating, management and development costs in the fishery harbours is ring-fenced in the fishery harbour centres fund, which is the only source of revenue available for that purpose. Capital investment in the fishery harbour centres in recent years has underpinned both fisheries activities and the harbour's expanding use for leisure and marine tourism and other maritime enterprises. The House will appreciate that, in the current economic climate, the State must be fully committed to maximising the return on that investment. Moreover, the Department is required to ensure that the fishery harbour centres are run on a financially-sound basis. Parking fees for the 500-plus parking spaces within the boundaries of the harbour would assist in balancing the books and provide funding for improvements that would not otherwise be possible.

There is a wide range of users of Howth fishery harbour, business customers, yacht club members, sport fishermen, DART users, tourists, walkers and many others. All of these users need to use the parking facilities of Howth fishery harbour centre. This combination of uses and the wide range of users of the harbour brings its own inherent dangers, and safety must be a paramount consideration. There have been a number of occasions where the volume of cars in the harbour and the resultant pressure on parking has led to a situation where emergency access has been seriously compromised. The harbour authorities have received specific complaints from elements of the emergency services in that regard, but, fortunately, no serious incident has arisen yet.

Department officials have consulted with officials of Fingal County Council and with An Garda Síochána about this and other related matters and the Department's engineers have met some of the harbour's business tenants individually about new traffic management and road markings, etc. The Department officials also attended the harbour users forum in February, where pay-parking was on the agenda and there they heard the views of the harbour users at first hand. There was widespread public consultation when pay-parking at Howth fishery harbour centre was originally examined in detail in 2007, in conjunction with Fingal County Council. All of the various views expressed and submissions made then are still available and the Minister is well aware of the concerns and has acknowledged them.

The Minister has received new correspondence on the matter from a wide range of harbour users and he is reviewing all aspects of the matter at present. He assures the House that the views of the various harbour users, the potential earnings, the possible impact on the harbour businesses and recreational users, the impact on the local economy and local jobs and the impact on overall traffic management within the fishery harbour are all matters that he will take into account in coming to a decision. He also assures the House and all of the harbour users in Howth that he is committed to continuing to invest in the development of Howth for the future.

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