asked the Minister for Fisheries if he had received a copy of a resolution passed at a recent meeting of the Westport Proposals Committee of the Mayo County Council drawing the attention of the Government to the necessity for the provision of suitable piers and landing places on the western coast, and what action he intends to take as a result.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - NEED FOR WESTERN PIERS.
I received a copy of a resolution stated to have been passed some days ago by three persons meeting as the Westport Proposals Committee. The resolution was communicated to me on unheaded paper, and there was nothing mentioned connecting the Committee with the Mayo County Council.
As regards piers and landing places in County Mayo, I may say that there are three cases in which I feel satisfied that improvements to the existing piers are very desirable, and there is a fourth case in which I regard the provision of landing facilities as urgently necessary. In two of these cases I have offered the County Council to recommend a grant-in-aid from State funds, provided the council will carry out the necessary work and bear a reasonable proportion of its cost. In each instance the Council has declined to undertake the work. In the third case I offered to have repairs carried out if the Council would agree to maintain the structure in future. This they refused to do. In the fourth case, repairs are being carried out by the Office of Public Works at the joint expense of the Council and my Department.
Would the Minister be prepared to mention the three cases to which he refers?
I think Belderg is one, the Bunlough pier and the Corraun boat-slip, and the place where the work is going on—Tiraun.