Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. If he does not receive the answers he is seeking, I hope he will not leave the House frustrated as I did on many occasions when I was in opposition in the Lower House. I will pursue further any issues about which the Senator is concerned but which are not addressed in my reply. I read the reply before entering the House and it seems that someone missed the boat in recent years.

I welcome the opportunity to deal with the issues raised by Senator Cullinane in respect of the pier at Helvick, County Waterford. I wish to clarify the position with regard to the responsibilities of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food regarding the development of fishery harbours. My Department is responsible for the day-to-day running, maintenance and development of the six fishery harbour centres. These are located at Killybegs, Ros an Mhíl, Dingle, Castletownbere, Dunmore East and Howth.

There are, however, numerous other fishery harbours throughout the country which are not in the ownership of my Department. In the main, these harbours are in the ownership of the various local authorities and my Department is committed to assisting, where possible, their development and upgrade. Funding for such developments has traditionally been provided under my Department's fishery harbours and coastal infrastructure development programme, subject, of course, to the availability of Exchequer funding. Helvick Pier in County Waterford falls into this category and is in the ownership of Waterford County Council which is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the harbour, as well as its maintenance and development.

Waterford County Council has made a number of applications for funding under the fishery harbours and coastal infrastructure development programme in recent years. In 2007, the then Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources approved funding for underpinning works on the pier which were to cost €690,000, 75% of which was to be funded by the Department. Unfortunately, due to delays on the part of Waterford County Council in the appointment of a consultant and the tender process, it was unable to appoint a contractor and complete the approved works and draw down the approved grant.

Waterford County Council again applied for funding in 2008 under the Department's fishery harbours and coastal infrastructure development programme. This application, in conjunction with all others received, was given full consideration and assessed with reference to available Exchequer funding and overall national priorities. The funding application for Helvick was, however, unsuccessful on that occasion. In 2009, my Department received a further application from Waterford County Council for funding under the fishery harbours and coastal infrastructure development programme for improvements at the pier, including the extension and realignment of the existing slipway. The cost of this project was stated as €300,000. Regrettably, however, given the limited Exchequer funding available at that time it was not possible to fund any local authority-managed projects in 2009 and, therefore, the request for funding in respect of the pier at Helvick was not successful.

In September 2010, my Department was in a position, with limited resources, to invite local authorities, including Waterford County Council, to submit applications for funding for projects costing a maximum of €150,000. No application was received from Waterford County Council at that time. This year my Department invited local authorities to submit applications in respect of priority harbour development projects for inclusion in the 2011 fishery harbours and coastal infrastructure development programme in early May. In light of the limited resources available and with the aim of maximising the number of individual projects that could be progressed, the maximum cost of each project was limited to €150,000. Waterford County Council submitted an initial application to my Department which identified the extension and repair of the RNLI slipway at Helvick Pier to allow the launch of the rescue vessel at low tide as its top priority. The cost of the project was stated as €96,400.

Following a short-listing of initial applications, my Department circulated detailed application forms to the various local authorities seeking additional information in respect of projects in order to assist in the further evaluation of the preliminary applications. A detailed application form was issued to Waterford County Council in respect of Helvick Pier and other projects. The deadline for the return of these application forms was 10 June last. No reply was received from Waterford County Council and, therefore, my Department's evaluation committee was unable to consider any Waterford County Council projects for inclusion in the programme. The local authority element of the 2011 fishery harbours and coastal infrastructure development programme has now been finalised and it is not possible at this stage to approve any funding for works at Helvick pier.

I do not know if I have provided the information the Senator is seeking. As stated earlier, however, it appears that someone missed the boat.