Cork council wants Special Areas of Conservation removed from harbours
Baltimore harbour needs a breakwater for safety reasons but a previous request by the council to develop one there was refused by An Bord Pleanála because it would have been developed within an SAC, council told. Picture: Richard Mills.
Cork County Council bosses have put forward a strong submission to the Government as to why some Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) should be removed from certain harbours/inlets.
They argue the SACs are having a detrimental impact on safety and the commercial enhancement of communities which depend on the sea for their living.
The information was given to councillors at a recent meeting in response to a motion from independent councillor Karen Coakley.
Ms Coakley won unanimous support when she said the council should write to Heritage Minister Darragh O’Brien requesting that when the new Marine Protected Area Bill is introduced, certain SACs would be removed as they are impeding the construction of breakwaters and other essential maritime infrastructure.
She pointed out some SACs are so close to piers that no work can be undertaken to enhance them and this is a particular problem in West Cork.
She gave the example of Baltimore harbour, which needs a breakwater for safety reasons but a previous request by the council to develop one there was refused by An Bord Pleanála because it would have been developed within an SAC.
“Baltimore needs a breakwater, which would be a massive benefit to our fishermen and other maritime industries. Fishing trawlers from Baltimore spend every winter when the weather is bad sheltering in either Union Hall, Kinsale or Castletownbere.
"Baltimore has a fine pier and facilities, but realistically without shelter [from a breakwater] it has nothing,” Ms Coakley said.
Fianna Fáil councillor Joe Carroll said: “How can you have an SAC in a working harbour? Boats have been smashed off the pier because there’s no breakwater. The ferry [based there which serves nearby islands] has to go up the river to shelter in winter.”
Fianna Fáil councillor Patrick Gerard Murphy said while SACs were first introduced at the behest of the EU, “overzealous” Irish civil servants had put them all over the place.
“They did not make sense. Having them right next to working piers is not feasible. They should be hundreds of feet out from piers, which would allow development to go ahead. Now we have a chance to review it. I know the council's made a strong submission on the review under [the guidance of] Kevin Morey [county engineer],” Mr Murphy said.
Fine Gael councillor John O’Sullivan said the imposition of SACs in certain maritime areas had caused issues for years, including creating problems in dredging the harbour at Courtmacsherry.
“I’m hopeful the new legislation will contain a common-sense approach,” he said.
However, assistant county council chief executive James Fogarty added some words of caution.
“This is a highly complex area. There’s a lot of uncertainty on how this new bill will operate. I don’t suggest it will be a quick fix,” he said.
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