Plea for Bantry Bay users to make views known on merger plan
With the transfer of 11 harbour boards countrywide to local authority control, the West Cork body is the only remaining regional harbour authority operating under the Harbours Act of 1946.
The Department of Transport has insisted the merger will help to develop the bay — which includes an oil storage terminal on Whiddy Island.
But West Cork-based Senator Denis O’Donovan insists the bonding of the two authorities is “not in Bantry’s best interest”.
He disputes department assurances about the Port of Cork. “My continuing fear is they won’t focus on the designation of Bantry Bay as a tourist hub,” he said.
“Furthermore, I don’t want to see any removal of the traditional rights of residents of the bay such as Whiddy Bay residents or inshore fishermen.”
The merger was first proposed in 1999 after consultants KPMG presented a review of regional ports and harbours. Suggesting the document was “long out of date”, Mr O’Donovan appealed to all residents and users of the bay, including marine sports organisations, to make submissions before the Apr 5 deadline, to the department.
“People should seek assurances there will be no new tariffs imposed, such as annual fees for landing boats in Bantry Bay.
“I may get egg on my face for objecting vociferously to the planned merger. But I have concerns there could be a watered-down of the existing harbour authority with the risk that the landing rights of the people of Whiddy Island, inshore fishermen, ferrymen, tourism providers, farmers, and others with a multiplicity of rights, such as the sailing club, could be affected.
“I would, even at this late stage, encourage people to engage in the consultation process. Although the department continues to claim the merger is in the best interests of Bantry Bay, charges could easily be introduced.”
According to Mr O’Donovan, the Bantry Harbour Board has a cash surplus of €1.5m.
In recent years, the board has invested up to €4.5m in the harbour in providing slipways and pontoons, land acquisition within the bay, along with surveys and planning costs for a master plan for the development of the inner harbour.
“Bantry Harbour Board has been a success story and it should be left as it is,” said the public representative.
“I believe the Port of Cork would not come near Bantry with a barge pole if the local harbour authority had a deficit in funding. Although it is an unusual model, the current structure is a low operating cost model and the board’s members, by their own volition, get no payment whatsoever.”
In a recent Senate discussion which involved Leo Varadkar, the transport minister, the Fianna Fáil senator said: “In my opinion, the best way forward is to continue operating the harbour as it is, and using the resources to improve local infrastructure.”
