Report: Britain must stop funding Irish lighthouses

AN ANGLO-IRISH government report has criticised the running costs of Irish lighthouses and recommended Britain stop providing a multi-million euro subsidy towards the service.

The Atkins report said the Commissioner of Irish Lights (CIL) was costing the British exchequer €12.5m each year and this was not sustainable.

The report said the lighthouse infrastructure in the Republic should be cut adrift from Britain. This would end a pre-independence agreement which saw the British General Lighthouse Fund (GLF) retain control of our marine navigation systems.