Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Cherrywood is a corporate subsidiary. It is an example of that model and so it is directly relevant. The problem is that on a day-to-day basis, when it comes to an existing example of a corporate subsidiary under Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, the councillors and the public really do not have much say. Once or twice a year they get a chance to talk about it and review it, but in reality they do not have much say or input. Many people, including public representatives, do not know what is going on there.

This has been the problem with Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company; we do not really know what is going on. Plans have been hatched for years in the case of a cruise berth and master plans have been developed where we have not had real input from the elected representatives, the public, the stakeholders and the users. That is what we are trying to rectify with these amendments. The best way to achieve that is to dissolve the harbour company, forget about the corporate subsidiary model when it comes to the harbour and make it a fully integrated part of the council.

I urge the Minister to accept this because it genuinely reflects the majority view in Dún Laoghaire among the public and stakeholders about what to do with Dún Laoghaire Harbour.

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