Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 October 2023
433. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of funding applications made by Cork County Council to his Department in respect of the Old Pier at Keelbeg, Union Hall, County Cork, in tabular form, over the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45198/23]
View answerThe current funding scheme is the Brexit Adjustment: Local Authority Marine Infrastructure Scheme 2022-2023. This scheme is proposed for funding under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve and is specifically to address the impacts of the EU UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the seafood sector, in line with the Seafood Taskforce Report which I established to identify how to address the impacts of Brexit on the seafood sector. This scheme is proposed to be funded in the main from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve. Cork County Council is approved for €6.3m for the funding of 21 projects. Cork County Council applied for funding for one project for Union Hall under the scheme but the proposed project did not meet the Scheme criteria and so was ineligible.
Prior to the current BAR Scheme, my Department provided funding to carry out small scale projects for the development and repair of local authority owned piers, harbours and slipways under the annual Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme. Over the period 2014-2021, Cork County Council received funding of €183,000 for various safety improvement works at Union Hall. Over the same period, Cork County Council made six applications for proposed projects at Union Hall. The attached table provides a breakdown of applications over the past 10 years.
Any future supports that may be made available to support local authority capital investment in piers and harbours will have to consider the available Exchequer funding and overall national priorities. Responsibility for the development and maintenance of local authority owned piers, harbours and slipways rests with each local authority in the first instance. I am also mindful that the primary governance role for local authorities rests with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and any wider funding issues for local authorities should be addressed to that Minister.
Union Hall - Table detailing number of applications
|
Funding applications by Cork County Council |
|
|
Year |
Number of Applications |
|
2014 |
0 |
|
2015 |
0 |
|
2016 |
0 |
|
2017 |
1 |
|
2018 |
0 |
|
2019 |
1 |
|
2020 |
2 |
|
2021 |
2 |
|
2022/2023 |
1 |
