asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry when it is expected that work will commence on the reconstruction of the pier at Moville, County Donegal.
14.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - County Donegal Pier.
13.
asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry if an independent consultant's report has been commissioned in connection with the cause of the collapse of the newly constructed pier head at Moville, County Donegal; and if the findings of such a report will be made available.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 14 together. An independent consultant's report has not been commissioned by my Department to examine the cause of the collapse of the pier head at Moville. The matter has, however, been examined by the Office of Public works and I do not regard the employment of a consultant as necessary.
The Derry Harbour Commissioners, on acceptance of a grant from my Department for the construction of the pier, agreed to maintain the completed structure and are, therefore, responsible for carrying out the necessary repairs to the pier. My Department are pursuing the question of the repairs with the Harbour Commissioners.
Is the Minister aware that, as a result of the collapse of the pier head there are no real berthing facilities available at Moville? The few berths which were available there were extremely important during the mackerel season. When all the boats are in they move to Moville from Rossmullen. The other obvious port is Greencastle and there are no facilities there either. This means all of our boats have to go into the city of Derry to discharge their fish. Even temporary repairs to this pier are absolutely necessary.
I am aware of the present state of the pier, which I would say is dangerous. There is no berthage there. We asked the Office of Public Works to have a look at the state of the pier and, in their opinion, the dredging which took place in 1979 caused the subsequent collapse of part of the head of the pier. Donegal County Council have been offered a pier by the Derry Harbour Commissioners. Our advice to them is that they should not contemplate purchasing the pier, or taking it over, until the Harbour Commissioners carry out their obligation to repair the damaged section. That is the current position.
Would the Minister accept that this might be putting the cart before the horse? If the Derry Harbour Commissioners carry out the repairs we might find we have to throw good money after bad, and that it is necessary to have the pier reconstructed. At a time when the Minister continues to tell us there are financial difficulties, we should seriously consider forgetting about the repairs, if the independent consultant advises Donegal County Council, or the Derry Harbour Commissioners, or ultimately the Minister, that a major job should be done rather than a minor one if the pier is dangerous as a result of the dredging in 1979.
Derry Harbour Commissioners have accepted responsibility for the present state of the pier, but they add that they cannot be compelled to carry out the repairs. They accept responsibility in law, but say they cannot be compelled to carry out the repairs. That is a matter for another forum. As things stand, Donegal County Council would be ill-advised to take on this responsibility until the people legally responsible live up to their responsibility.
What pressure does the Minister intend to exert on the Derry Harbour Commissioners to ensure that they carry out their responsibility? We cannot wait until this case goes to court to decide who is responsible for it. The fish will not wait.
At the moment Donegal County Council are in correspondence with the commissioners on this issue. We had better await the outcome of that.