Fahey ‘stands over’ €6m marina scheme

JUNIOR Minister Frank Fahey has defended his handling of a botched €6 million scheme to build four marinas.

A damning report by the Dáil Public Accounts Committee, which scrutinises State spending, found that Mr Fahey had personally prioritised the four projects, while Marine Minister in 2000, without adhering to Department of Finance guidelines.

The marina at Rosses Point in Co Sligo was abandoned last year, while the marina at Roundstone in Co Galway has yet to be built.

While the marina in Cahirciveen, Co Kerry, is fully operational, having received €2.5m of its total €3.5m cost from the State, there are question marks about its financial future.

The final marina, in Kenmare, Co Kerry, was the most controversial. It was approved as part of a deal brokered with independent TD Jackie Healy Rae at a time when the Government needed his support for a majority in the Dáil.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and his project manager Gerry Hickey became personally involved in the deal, which saw more than €330,000 being paid as an initial grant to the marina developer. Subsequent payments were stopped after issues arose over planning compliance.

Speaking from New York, where he is on State business, Mr Fahey — now a junior minister at the Department of Justice — defended his role in the scheme and refuted the report’s criticisms.

“In 2002, following a Government decision, €5.7m was made available by Charlie McCreevy in the Budget for those four projects,” he told RTÉ.

“At that time, there were no proposals in the marine tourism measure of the National Development Plan, and it would have taken at least another 12 months for such a measure to be established,” he added.

“There was onerous examination and rigorous evaluation... and I absolutely stand over the decisions.”