Mullaghmore Harbour is owned by Sligo County Council and responsibility for its repair and maintenance rests with the Local Authority in the first instance.
My Department, however, provides funding for the development and repair of Local Authority owned piers and slipways under the annual Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme subject to available Exchequer funding and overall national priorities.
All coastal Local Authorities were invited to submit, in order of priority, a list of capital projects for consideration under the 2013 programme. My Department received an application from Sligo County Council for funding for a total of 5 projects, of which the Mullaghmore Harbour Bay Study was identified as the fifth project in order of priority.
When assessing projects for inclusion in the programme priority was given to projects which were ready for build and had any necessary consents over funding for studies and design works. The application from Sligo County Council was in respect of funding for a Bay Study at Mullaghmore Harbour and was identified by the Local Authority as their lowest priority project.
Any application received from Sligo County Council under the Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme in future years will be given due consideration.
