Harbours and Piers
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-24
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Timmy Dooley (FF), Clare

I thank the Senators again. To answer directly, I too share the concerns raised. I have visited many piers and harbours around the country, but there is not an envelope of money in our Department to be able to fund them. I have, therefore, begun a process of engagement across Departments. I did not want to come in and stick to the script, which would, effectively, say it is an issue for another Department, because that does not solve the problem. We are all in government together. While local authority piers do reside under the Department of housing, I am prepared to work with it. It is important that we look to the Department of tourism as well, because many of these facilities are also used for tourism. There is an element of fishing, although a lot less than what it might have been, so that is where our Department came into play. We must also look to Fáilte Ireland and other agencies that have capital funds.
I have asked officials in our Department to try to identify where moneys are already being spent on infrastructure so we can try to pull together a pool of money for marine infrastructure investment. This will involve taking the €4.3 million we are lucky enough to have this year and some moneys from other Departments. If we could get to a notional fund total of €8 million to €10 million annually, then we could make real differences. We could look at some key projects, perhaps on an annual basis, that would involve €1 million or up to €2 million. It could be that kind of thing. It is the very early stages but, based on people who have come to me in the past and places I have visited, I am trying to develop something in that area. I look forward to the help and support of the Senators in that regard.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:46+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-24