PRESSURE is mounting of the De- partment of Communications, En- ergy and Natural Resources to cough up some of the estimated €10 mil- lion in funding needed for the devel- opment of Doolin Pier.
At yesterday’s meeting of the North Clare Area of Clare County Council, Cllr Martin Lafferty (Ind) tabled a motion demanding that the Govern- ment department not be “let off the hook” in relation to Doolin Pier.
Cllr Lafferty also accused former junior marine minister John Browne of misleading locals when, on vis- iting Doolin last year, he placed the blame for the delays with Clare County Council.
“The people of Doolin were an- noyed with Clare County Council for not putting in an application to the Department of the Marine for funding. Clare County Council put in loads of applications but they kept saying that the money wasn’t to come from the Department of the
Marine,” he said.
‘Then last year, just before the elec- tion, junior minister Browne came down and upset a lot of local people by saying that there was no proposal before his department on the pier and putting all the blame back on Clare County Council.
“I don’t think that the Department of the Marine should be left off the hook on this. They should give a cer- tain amount of funding towards this. Doolin is a commercial pier and is used by fishermen as well as by trav-
ellers to the Islands. If they don’t pay it then it will be the rate payers of Clare who will have to pay it.”
An agreement was reached last week to co-fund the development of Doolin Pier between Clare County Council and the Department of Com- munity, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs This arrangement would see Clare County Council pay some €2.5 mil- lion towards the development.
Cllr Martin Conway (FG) raised fears that parking charges could be used as a means of recouping the
€2.5 million.
“IT would hope that that €2.5 mil- lion is unconditional and that we won’t see car parking charges and the like put in as a means of recoup- ing that money,” he said.
Meanwhile, Cllr Richard Nagle (FF), welcomed the news that the new lifeguard facilities in Lahinch would be in place before the begin- ning of the 2008 Summer season but said that he was disappointed that the rest of the promenade masterplan had fallen behind schedule.