Closure of Dursey cable car a 'body blow' to West Cork island
Dursey Island cable car won't become operational again until at least November, because its two towers need reinforcing due to storm damage. Photo: Denis Minihane
Plans are being made to postpone the closure of the country's only cable car serving an island and to seek a subsidised ferry service to keep residents connected while it's out of action.
The cable car which serves Dursey Island, Co Cork, had been due to shut for essential repair work on April 1, but following pleas from councillors this will be extended for a month.
Independent councillor Danny Collins said there are a number of farmers with livestock on the island which need looking after, especially at this time of the year, which is the lambing and calving season.
“It would be a great ease to the farmers (who live on the mainland) if this was done. We should also write to the minister in charge of the islands, Heather Humphreys, about hiring a ferry service for Dursey while the cable car is closed,” Mr Collins said.
It's expected it won't become operational again until at least November, because its two towers need reinforcing due to storm damage. Fianna Fáil councillor Patrick Gerard Murphy said the planned closure had created a lot of upset.
“We understand health and safety come first, but we need to call the minister to work quickly to put mitigation measures in place. It's also a body blow to the tourist offering in the Beara peninsula,” he said.
Social Democrats councillor Ross O'Connell said he'd been contacted by farmers who need access to the island on a daily basis, while Fianna Fáil councillor Joe Carroll agreed, like other councillors, that Ms Humphrey's needs to be contacted on the ferry request as a matter of urgency.
Council chief executive Tim Lucey said the council is willing to do whatever it can to help the farmers. “We hope to get back into operation as quickly as we can, but won't be operational this tourist season,” he said.
Meanwhile, councillors are to write to An Bord Pleanála expressing their dissatisfaction with the granting of planning permission for seven huge wind turbines in one of the most scenic areas in the country. The councillors say they will back a judicial review if it's sought by people living in Gougane Barra.
Bord Pleanála decided to grant permission for the turbines, which will be 178m high at tip point, despite the county council refusing planning permission for them and their own inspector backing the local authority. Councillors agreed to support local opposition after the matter was raised by Fianna Fáil's Gobnait Moynihan.
She said the turbines would “ruin” the area as they'll be just 2,000m away from the historic lakeside church, which is immensely popular for marriages because of the photo opportunities it offers.
Fine Gael councillor Karen Coakley, who is a national tour guide, said she often brings coaches to the area filled with tourists from all over the world. “We cannot let this happen. It defies logic,” she said.
Independent councillor Alan Coleman pointed out that Cork County Council had a fantastic record in supporting wind energy projects. “When this council refuses such a plan then you'd imagine the board of Bord Pleanála would say there has to be something wrong here,” he said.
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