Money for piers has vanished
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MILLIONS of euro, which had been earmarked to build new piers at Dún Chaoin and on the Great Blasket, have vanished.
In March 2002 Minister Síle DeValera announced the allocation of €8.5 million to purchase the island, conserve its houses and construct a new pier on the island and another at Dún Chaoin.
But, according to Cllr Séamus Cosaí Fitzgerald that money is no longer available.
"Planning permission has been granted for the pier at Dún Chaoin and on the Great Blasket. The tenders are ready to go out but I heard Minister Ó Cuív saying that he doesn't have the money. The money for the piers was to be provided by Roinn na Gaeltachta but due to the downturn in the economy the minister is not in a position at the moment to fund those piers," he told The Kerryman.
"The €8.5 million that was announced by Minister Síle deValera, prior to the 2002 General Election, seems to have evaporated. She said the money was there and that it was set aside to buy the island and buid the piers. A certain amount was spent on survey work, consultations and the purchase of lands but there's still around three quarters of that €8.5 million to be spent and it seems to have evaporated," he said.
Brandon pier looks like being a casualty of the current depression also, according to the Cllr Fitzgerald.
"Around 10 years ago Brandon pier was identified by Roinn na Gaeltachta one of four strategic piers in the Kerry Gaeltacht. Two of those were in West Kerry – Baile na nGall and Brandon – and the other two were in South Kerry. Three of the piers have been upgraded but when it came to Brandon pier the cost was estimated at between €2 million and €3 million. A breakwater needs to be constructed there to provide shelter from the Atlantic. The pier itself needs to be upgraded and extended by 30 metres and a second slipway needs to be built for leisure craft. Some minor works have been carried out on the pier and I'm told now that another hole has appeared in the pier below the water. That hasn't been confirmed or denied," he explained.
"At the time of that original estimate of the repair costs, Minister Ó Cuív had a capping of €1 million on each pier. A contribution of 10 per cent was also required from Kerry County Council. Roinn na Gealtachta asked the engineers to go back and scale down the whole Brandon pier project. It has been scaled down but now we discovered that the money isn't there for the works. Minister Ó Cuív tells us he has no money to invest in piers and the council doesn't have any funding to meet their required contribution. We met the county manager Tom Curran on this last year and he stated very clearly that he wouldn't have the money to put into this project," Mr Fitzgerald said.
"I think the future for places like Baile na nGall and Brandon is in marine tourism. People need a safe harbour for their boats if they're staying overnight and maybe they'll contribute some money to the local economy. Facilities will also have to be upgraded for the local fishermen in Brandon," he stated.
