asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will arrange to have the mouth of the river Boyne examined with a view to having the walls from the port of Drogheda to Drogheda bar rebuilt for the purpose of improving (a) the navigational facilities of the river, and (b) the mussel beds in the river.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Drogheda Port Survey.
Under the Harbours Act, 1946, the maintenance of harbour works and structures at Drogheda Harbour and improvements to the approaches thereto, are the responsibility of the Drogheda Harbour Commissioners, to whom any representations in the matter should be made direct.
I understand that the mussel beds in the river Boyne are public property and not the responsibility of the harbour authority. Any representations concerning the mussel beds should be addressed to the Minister for Agriculture.
Is the Minister aware that the Drogheda Harbour Board have been for years discussing the possibility of getting a dredger for the purpose of clearing the mouth of the river Boyne and that they have applied to the Minister's Department on a number of occasions for it? Is the Minister also aware that, even if they spend hundreds of thousands of pounds for that purpose, they will not achieve their object, unless they build up the walls and so prevent the sand from coming in?
Is the Minister also aware that the mussel beds are being destroyed, due to sand coming in from the sides of the river Boyne because there is no protecting wall, and will he have the matter investigated?
The Deputy's question contains no reference whatever to the purchase of a dredger by the harbour commissioners.
The question of the preservation of the mussel beds from possible contamination is a matter for the Minister for Agriculture.
The question of having the mouth of the river Boyne examined with a view to having the harbour walls rebuilt for the purpose of improving navigational facilities is a matter for the harbour commissioners. May I say that the commissioners have made no representations on this matter to me or to my Department?