Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)

Táim buíoch don Aire Stáit as a thuras chuig Bhaile Átha Cliath thuaidh. It was great to see him with the local fishermen and the people who are engaged with local businesses i mBinn Éadair. It is very important to have been at that table to talk to the local fishermen. He witnessed how greatly the local economy is based on fishing. Howth is a huge tourist attraction. Americans come to this beautiful capital city, get the bus out to Howth, go on the walk, see the fishermen and eat the fresh fish. There are so many jobs based on that. The main thing the Minister of State heard about from that meeting is the dredging of the harbour. There is a serious delay at the moment. I understand the EPA has a reason and there are issues that need to be examined. Can the Department speed that up? Some estimates show that nearly 220,000 cu. m. of material needs to be removed. We have to do that sensitively as there is a lot of marine life around the area. Clearance of this material would restore depth and safety and ensure navigation of all craft. Residents in Howth are saying there have been incidents where the lifeboat was having difficult in certain areas of the port. Could the Department look at ways to expedite the environmental authorisation along with the rigorous safeguards?

I also want to reinforce the long discussion we had on the Syncrolift boat lift that is currently there. It is 40 years old and sadly the parts for that lift are not available any more. If that lift was out of service, all the local fishermen, boats and businesses, the fishmongers, restaurants and boat developers would not be able to work and the local economy would be damaged. I was on the phone to a local fisherman today. It is essential that this infrastructure be upgraded.

Returning to the dredging, the issue of boat access is linked in that there have been cases where it is inefficient at low tide on certain channels. Other Members have commented on EU fishing laws. We saw how the fishermen spoke to the Minister of State that day. I know that he engaged with them and that we do have our hands tied when it comes to EU laws. Is there a way he could look into the matters those fishermen asked him to expedite? I look forward to welcoming him back to Howth to open a new boat lift in the next month or two.

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