Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Seanadóir as ucht an ábhar thábhachtach seo a ardú. There are two aspects to this issue. The first concerns silting of the harbour and in this regard successive dumping at sea permits have been issued to the council to facilitate maintenance dredging which would allow the RNLI to launch its boat on a 24-hour basis. The primary responsibility for this aspect rests with the local authority, which has been given assurances by the Department on several occasions that further requests for permits for ongoing maintenance would be given the highest priority in the interest of public safety.

The second aspect relates to the drafting and acceptance by the relevant parties of a lease in respect of the proposed breakwater at Buncrana. The council requested a reduction or total waiver of foreshore charges on the basis that the facility was to be used by the RNLI. Following extensive discussions and as an exceptional matter, the Department, with the agreement of the Department of Finance, informed the council that it would consider waiving the rental charges if the council could confirm that the proposed facility would be for the exclusive use of the RNLI. The council was also informed that if it was unable to confirm that the facility would be used exclusively by the RNLI, the Department was prepared to apply a reduced rental charge based on the ratio of usage of the facility by the RNLI.

The council subsequently confirmed that the works proposed at Buncrana Harbour are being constructed solely for the use of the RNLI and are not being constructed for the benefit of any other party. On foot of this confirmation the Department entered into detailed discussions with the Chief State Solicitor's office with a view to preparing an appropriate draft lease to best facilitate the council's proposal and safeguard the State's ongoing interest in the management and protection of the foreshore in the public interest. The draft lease will involve the insertion of specific conditions that will reflect the fact that the arrangements involved are unusual and based on the need to provide a permanent location for the RNLI which will enable the launch of its boat on a 24-hour basis.

The Department's discussions with the Chief State Solicitor's office have focused on the public interest provisions of the Foreshore Acts, the proposed arrangements which the council will need to make with the RNLI and other legal issues designed to protect the interests of all parties. When drafted, the lease will require the agreement of all relevant parties. In the course of drafting the lease conditions the council was asked to supply plans for the structure which, when received, required subsequent clarification on a number of occasions. These clarifications concerned the type of structure and the scale of its footprint. These issues have now been substantially resolved from a technical perspective and the Department is in consultation with the Chief State Solicitor's office on finalising the draft lease.

The issues associated with this application are relatively complex but every effort is being made to expedite completion of the draft lease.