Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Ba mhaith liom labhairt faoi Chuan Dhún Laoghaire, atá faoi Chomhairle Contae Dhún Laoghaire-Ráth an Dúin. The Minister will be aware that a number of years ago a policy decision resulted in the transfer of many harbours and ports to local authorities around the country. One of them was Dún Laoghaire Harbour under the charge of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, of which I was a member at the time. We welcomed the decision. It was a very important measure of local democracy to involve the local authorities and, by extension, councillors in the administration and running of the harbour, which is an asset to the council. When I became a councillor in 2009, local authority members were removed from the board of the harbour company, which was a retrograde step.

As the Minister is aware, Dún Laoghaire Harbour is a Victorian harbour built in the first half of the 19th century. It is a massive granite edifice off the coast of Dún Laoghaire. The town developed in its wake and with the construction of the Dublin to Kingstown railway. The harbour is a fabulous heritage asset, as well as being a port that facilitates the Commissioners of Irish Lights, the body that services the buoys and lighthouses around the island of Ireland. It facilitates fishermen who use the coal harbour and much pleasure and leisure activity through sailing and other water sports. It also facilitates occasional visits from cruise ships, although not recently.While the harbour was under the management of the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company, which was a commercial entity that existed from the 1990s until the harbour was taken back under the control of the county council, it is my opinion that the harbour infrastructure was substantially mismanaged. There were serious financial problems with the administration of the harbour. Certainly from 2015, when Stena Line left, a massive income stream was lacking and that simply meant there was no money to pay for important infrastructural maintenance and upgrades. We know, for example, that recent storms have substantially damaged the east pier and other parts of the harbour walls and they need to be upgraded. An engineering report and an assessment were done before the hand over that said the liability could be as much as €45 million. That finding was pooh-poohed by the then Minister for Transport, Shane Ross. I do not know whether a final figure has been arrived at but we know that with Dún Laoghaire harbour, there comes a massive financial obligation on Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. The reality is that the harbour as a heritage port and facility does not have the same capacity to make money like larger or more commercial ports. The harbour is located very close to Dublin Port so we cannot compete on the same level.

The harbour company talked about plans to put in place a cruise berth facility at a cost of between €17 million and €19 million, which would never have washed its face. The company talked about creating a badeschiff, which is a swimming pool inside a barge inside a harbour. The company talked about floatels inside the harbour as well. None of these things ever came to fruition but there was great talk. The reality is that the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has been left holding the baby. There is now a situation where the council has a massive financial obligation and no means to fulfil that other than to transfer it to the taxpayers of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, and transfer the commercial rates on to small businesses in the county or the local property on to the residents of the county. That is wrong and central government must make financial provision for the county council not just to run the harbour but to ensure that it is maintained to the highest possible standards to make sure that we do not lose any aspect of this beautiful heritage facility and historic part of Dún Laoghaire town and the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area. I call on the Minister of State to make provision for that funding.