James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Ó Cathasaigh.

An extensive part of the constituency of Cork East is coastal. The communities involved in the fisheries in Youghal and Ballycotton, in particular, have expressed significant concern to me about the level of investment in our local coastal infrastructure. From the standpoint of the aquacultural and marine activity in my constituency, I am concerned about the level of coastal erosion taking place around the existing pier infrastructure at a number of locations in my constituency. In particular, I single out Knockadoon, a beautiful head near Youghal. It is a very small place. All it has is a walking trail. There is a Dominican camp there and limited fishing activities take place at the head. Unfortunately, the area around the existing pier has been badly damaged by significant coastal erosion.

I ask the Minister for assistance with that issue, because funds are needed for Knockadoon, but also for assistance with Ballycotton, a beautiful village in my constituency. It is famous for its local scenery but also because of the fish that is landed at the pier. It supplies many restaurants throughout the region. Many of the top restaurants in the country are located in County Cork and Ballymaloe House is just up the road from Ballycotton. Obviously, it is of great importance for our local economy to ensure the operations at Ballycotton pier are seamless. The fishermen and women involved in fisheries are very concerned about the damage that has been done over a long period at Ballycotton.

I raised this matter in the House previously with the Minister and was a little disappointed with the level of funding granted. We received just €54,000 towards the pier in the latest round of grants but the level of work required will run well into the hundreds of thousands of euro, potentially close to €500,000, to upgrade the sea wall. I am working with Cork County Council, which will report back to me, as requested, on the significant levels of damage done thus far and also on what is required. I again ask the Minister to examine this matter. In comparison with the other constituencies in the county, the grant is drastically smaller than what they were allocated, as he will clearly see when he looks at the figures from his Department. I would like that to be rectified, if possible.

I acknowledge that the Minister is committed to addressing the issues facing fisheries and I respect that. In his constituency of Donegal, too, they form a major part of that local economy, and the same has to be said about my constituency. In that context, I would be delighted to welcome the Minister as soon as possible to the constituency of Cork East to engage with people working along our coast. From an agricultural standpoint in his Department, he is very welcome to come to Cork East, where he will receive a great welcome from the people, who want to engage with him on a number of positive issues on which we believe the Department could have a proactive and helpful interaction with our constituency.

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