Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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1283. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the details of the Howth Harbour dredging project; and when work will commence on this project. [17068/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Howth Fishery Harbour Centre (FHC) is one of the six designated Fishery Harbour Centres which are owned, managed and maintained by my Department under Statute.

The situation in Howth Harbour has been recognised as an issue for some time, and the requirement for a dredging project to restore adequate depth in the entrance channel and within the harbour is accepted. The Harbour was last dredged in the early 1980s. The possibility of a dredging project has been under consideration for some time.

The project will involve the dredging of circa 240,000 cubic meters of dredge material and reuse of material in land reclamation. The land reclamation area will provide a mix of recreational public access green areas, slipway access to the water for small craft and provide areas for business, harbour operations and transport.

My Department tendered for a Consulting Engineering practice on 3^rdOctober 2018 to bring the project through the planning, environmental permitting and design phase and should a decision be made to progress the project, this consultant will also be responsible for the supervision of onsite works.

The project will require Planning Permission, an Environmental Impact Statement and a Waste License. A variety of factors will impact on the cost of a potential dredging project, including the disposal options, overall scale of the project, and market factors.

As part of the planning process, my Department is currently engaged in a Public Consultation process the closure date for submissions is Friday 9th April 2021.

Following the collation of information raised in the consultation process, the intention is to commence the planning phase of the project in May 2021, with the required EPA licencing process to follow after grant of Planning Permission. It is expected that the planning and permitting phase could take at least 12 months.

As is the case with all developments in the six Fishery Harbour Centres, any future decision with regard to initiating a full dredging project in Howth FHC will only be considered on the basis of available exchequer funding and competing national priorities.