David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

The Minister of State referred to the ownership of the pier resting with Waterford County Council and indicated that the latter has responsibility for maintenance, which is fine. However, this does not prevent the Department from providing grant aid. The position is similar to that which applies in respect of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. That Department provides grant aid to local authorities to carry out remediation works to housing stock which they own. It is not the case that the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food cannot provide the funding. However, it may be that it is not in a position to allocate funding at present. The latter is a separate issue.

There appears to be some confusion regarding the various applications made by Waterford County Council, particularly in the context of what it was seeking. The Minister of State indicated that the 2007 application listed the total cost of repairs at €690,000 and that the 2009 application listed it as €300,000. I am not sure, therefore, if we are referring to the same funding application. There appears to be confusion regarding the repair works relating to the slipway and the substantial works required in respect of the pier. Perhaps some works were carried out by the county council in the period between 2007 and 2009. I understand from discussions I had with the director of services at Waterford County Council that the new sum required in respect of the remediation works to be carried out on the pier is €1.2 million. That is a significant amount of money. We must consider, however, what would be the cost if the pier was to collapse completely.

I accept the Minister of State's reply and I understand that he is required to return to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to discuss the matter further. There is a need for a joined-up plan involving the Department and the county council because otherwise there is potential for an extremely difficult situation to arise in respect of the pier at Helvick. It would not be good if the State were obliged to spend huge amounts of money to build a new pier. We should invest the necessary funds now in order to repair the existing pier.