Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 October 2015
102. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if all tenancy agreements in Howth Harbour have been brought up to date; if he will provide a list of the tenancies in question; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33653/15]
View answerThe six Fishery Harbour Centres, including Howth, contain a diverse property portfolio reflecting their role as working fishery harbours and as the location for a broad range of other marine activities. The majority of Fishery Harbour Centre properties are leased by my Department to a variety of public and private sector tenants which support this range of activities, which is vital economically and socially, to the coastal communities the Fishery Harbour Centres serve. There are a total of 70 properties/sites in the Howth Fishery Harbour Centre property portfolio,10 of which are occupied by commercial entities without current documented lease agreements in place, of these 10 only 4 are in arrears of rent. Progress is being made to regularise all these property arrangements. I am not in a position to provide details of the individuals concerned for confidentiality reasons.
Since taking over responsibility for the management and operation of the Fishery Harbour Centres my Department has established a dedicated Property Unit to manage the property portfolio. In addition my Department worked closely with the Chief State Solicitor’s Office to increase the legal capacity resource for progressing the often complex and protracted legal aspects relating to outstanding property cases. An additional solicitor was employed by the Chief State Solicitor’s Office at my Department’s request to deal exclusively with Fishery Harbour Centre property portfolio, the cost of which is being met from the Department’s Fishery Harbour Centre Fund.
