Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the issue of local harbours. Recent changes in legislation have meant that harbour companies were abolished and their responsibilities were transferred to local authorities. That is welcome. Any element of local democratic involvement in the operation of harbours was removed in 2009 and councillors were removed from the boards of those companies. Harbours are now being administered by local authorities and the cost implications of that are significant, perhaps nowhere more so than Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown because the harbour there was transferred to the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council with an estimated liability of €45 million attached.That is a huge burden, both capitally and in terms of the revenue budget of the council on an ongoing basis. We as a House need to recognise that this is repeated in other local authorities throughout the country and we need to take stock of that.

Dún Laoghaire Harbour is an enormous historical asset for the country, as the location through which so many emigrants left this country and for its Victorian architecture, what it is and what it represents. However, it suffers from a lack of investment because Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council does not have the money to make the significant repairs and maintenance that needs to be carried out. As we approach the end of the month, with the council's budget meeting scheduled for 24 November, it will be a difficulty for councillors to find that money.

There are knock-on effects for other important historical harbours, such as Bullock Harbour and Coliemore Harbour, where recent damage has rendered the harbour virtually unusable. The House needs to take stock of the fact that this burden has been transferred from central government onto local authorities, notwithstanding the fact that, in the case of Dún Laoghaire Harbour, the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company essentially ran the harbour into the ground and failed to take care of the maintenance obligations it had. We have allowed a burden to shift onto local authority and thereby onto the residents of the area that we need to deal with as a House.