Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 February 2005
270 Mr. McGinley asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources if he has satisfied himself that the proposed pontoon to be built in Rossaveal Harbour and funded by his Department does not present safety danger; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33269/04]
View answerDuring 2001 and 2002 the Department, with the assistance of consultants, developed proposals for a deepwater quay and ferry terminal at Rossaveal Fishery Harbour Centre. The project was brought to planning stage at that time but was shelved due to budgetary constraints. In 2004, the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and this Department agreed to co-fund the ferry terminal aspect of the overall development.
In assessing the various options for the proposed ferry terminal, consideration was given to solid quay versus pontoon construction and, in terms of layout, marginal quay, quay orientated parallel to road, versus finger pier arrangement. After extensive computer modelling of the inner harbour, involving simulation of wave and tidal conditions and assessment of impacts of new structures on the wave climate, as well as the use of ship simulation studies, it was concluded that a finger pier arrangement of pontoon type construction was the optimum solution for the ferry terminal in Rossaveal.
The use of pontoons offers the following advantages over a solid quay construction: in practical terms, for a particular ferry, the relationship between the ferry deck and doors and pontoon deck can be fixed thus ensuring ease of access for all passengers including hospital patients and disabled persons; the ferry does not need to provide its own fenders and can berth immediately adjacent to rubbing strips on the pontoon, thus minimising the gap between the pontoon and the ferry side entrance doors; the associated access walkway from the quayside can be modified to suit increases in sea levels; there are no significant currents or wave conditions to consider, making a pontoon solution viable. Fabrication of the pontoon and access walkway can be carried out away from Rossaveal thus minimising impacts on existing port operations and the community in general.
In terms of layout, the principal advantages of using the pontoons in a finger pier configuration are that the berthing arrangement is optimised and the ferries are approximately berthed in line with the longest fetch direction.
The advice of the Department's consultants is that the use of pontoons for the ferry terminal in Rossaveal does not present any significant safety danger over that of a solid quay wall construction. In terms of access, pontoons offer a safer and easier option as the relationship between the ferry deck and the pontoon deck is constant, and in particular wheelchair access is easier with this arrangement.
