There are many failings and shortcoming in this Estimate presented by the Parliamentary Secretary but one that is of particular significance for the area I represent, North County Dublin, is the appalling disregard by the Government of the major problem of coast erosion. This year there was only £65,000 provided in the Estimate for coastal protection. Even last year there was £80,000. This compares with an estimate of £1,760,000 produced in 1975 by the Dublin County Council under the Coast Protection Acts to the Department for necessary work to be done on the County Dublin beaches for the protection of the coast. That is, for the coastline of one county alone at the 1975 price. The Government this year have provided the paltry sum of £65,000 for the whole country for this very necessary work of coast protection. The £1,750,000 for County Dublin was made up as follows: Velvet Strand, Portmarnock, £300,000; Lough Shinny, £25,000; the north shore at Skerries, £10,000; Barnageera, an area between Balbriggan and Skerries, £50,000; the area south of Balbriggan Harbour, £26,000; the borough of Portrane £160,000; the south County Dublin coastline £1,100,000 and Rodgerstown, Rush, £106,000. The county council submitted this report under section 2 of the Coast Protection Act, 1963, which said that
If the council is satisfied that land within the county is being progressively damaged by the continuing encroachment of the sea, as distinct from occasional or abnormal storms, and that the encroachment is liable to endanger the safety of a harbour, the buildings or amenities of a residential area, or other valuable property, it may declare that the promotion of a coast protection scheme is expedient and the Commissioners of Public Works should be asked to carry out a preliminary examination.
They are told to carry out a preliminary examination of this very necessary work because every scheme proposed by Dublin County Council falls under the headings mentioned in section 2 of the Act I have just quoted—encroachment is liable to endanger the safety of a harbour and falls under that heading; buildings or amenities of a residential area or other valuable property, also fall under that. The Government contributed £65,000. It would not be enough to carry out the very necessary preliminary examination of even one of these schemes. If the Government are serious about governing properly one of their main aims should be the protection of the amenities of the people in and around the capital city.
One of our greatest amenities in the summer is our beaches, Portmarnock beach and the south county and north county coastline. The Government have allowed a miserable £65,000 to cover all this necessary work throughout the country. This is an indictment of the Government and everything they stand for. I appeal to the Parliamentary Secretary to re-examine the Estimate and the allocation of funds for coastal protection.
I would like to mention the schemes suggested by the county council. It was estimated that the Velvet Strand Portmarnock, would cost approximately £300,000. What was included in that? The Velvet Strand covers an area from Farney Gutter, north of the County Club where it joins the Portmarnock-Malahide Road, along the banks towards Sutton Point and Portmarnock golf club. The lands abutting the Velvet Strand consist of a ridge of dunes. Severe damage is taking place at the Farney Gutter and for a distance of approximately 500 yards piles of eroding sands are speedily engulfing this wooded area and making their way onto the main road. The accumulation of sand in this area is blown on to the public road into gardens and drains and, from time to time, bulldozers and lorries have to be used to remove it.
The Portmarnock complex is so important to the people of the county and city of Dublin that the Dublin County Council are preparing a compulsory purchase order to acquire approximately 250 acres of this land for use for amenity purposes by the people. Portmarnock is one of the great traditional playgrounds of the people of Dublin city during the summer weekends. On any sunny Sunday during the summer you will see thousands of people along the Portmarnock beach and dunes enjoying their family picnics. Surely this amenity is worth protecting for these people?
Portmarnock is a rapidly developing area. There are approximately 25,000 people living in Portmarnock, Malahide and the surrounding areas. They are entitled to some amenities and their great natural amenity is the Velvet Strand. Despite the pleas of the county council and the people living in the area, the Government have closed their eyes to this very necessary coast protection work which would preserve this amenity. My comments on Portmarnock could apply with equal relevance to other schemes proposed by the county council. I appeal to the Parliamentary Secretary to reconsider the amounts of money provided for coast protection and see if in some way the preliminary examinations for this scheme could be got under way this year.
The debate on the extension of Skerries Harbour has gone on since this Government came into power— with no credit to the Government—and it still continues. I put down a number of questions to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance about the extension to Skerries Harbour. I also asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries on 3rd February, the progress made with regard to the extension of Skerries Harbour; and if he would make a statement on the matter. The Parliamentary Secretary informed me that:
A boring survey of Skerries Harbour will be necessary before any scheme for the improvement of the landing facilities there could be formulated. I have asked the Office of Public Works to have this survey undertaken as soon as possible.
In the course of the supplementaries I said:
I accept that the Parliamentary Secretary gave that answer with tongue in cheek. The boring equipment arrived at Skerries where one trial hole was made, but then the whole operation was packed up.
The history of this situation is this: before an extension could be arrived at, it was necessary to bore the foundations to see what soil they were going into. This is understandable. About 18 months ago I raised this matter with the then Parliamentary Secretary. I would like to say how very much I personally regretted the passing of the Parliamentary Secretary. When he was in office he was a courteous, kindly and charitable man and is a great loss to this House. He assured me that but for the fact that the one piece of boring equipment in the country was tied up on the west coast and there were storms at the time, they could have started the job in Skerries. I asked if there was any other boring equipment here and was told no, unfortunately, there was only one piece of equipment. The storms abated and the equipment was transferred to Skerries where it was assembled and anchored in the bay for a considerable time. They then proceeded, with great blowing of trumpets to bore one trial hole and then they disappeared never to be seen again.
When I queried this in the House the Parliamentary Secretary told me that another piece of boring equipment was being secured and eventually they would get around to digging the trial holes. So far not a sign has been seen of boring equipment or of any sign of progress with the necessary extension of Skerries Harbour. Skerries Harbour is one of the major harbours on the east coast. Because of the size of the fleet—boats of 75 and 85 feet are being purchased—many of the boats, instead of coming into the harbour, have to anchor in the bay where there is not adequate protection, and where because of the size of the harbour there are not adequate docking facilities for the unloading of catches and so on. The problem is becoming critical and that is why I urge that some action be taken by the Parliamentary Secretary in the near future to recommence the boring survey and, thereby, allow the necessary extension of the harbour.
While waiting for the major job to be carried out at Skerries Harbour, some dredging work should be put into operation in the area immediately adjacent to the harbour wall. This area is silting up badly and the bigger boats cannot come in, while those that can dock find that very quickly they have no protection because within a short time there is no water underneath.
The question of dredging brings to mind Balbriggan Harbour. Because of the inadequate space at Skerries many of the smaller boats are using Balbriggan Harbour again so that the fleet there is building up although the harbour is in a deplorable condition. It is necessary that dredging work be commenced immediately on this harbour. I asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries whether anything was being done in this regard and he told me that the position will be re-examined in the light of a report of a special survey team. This is the general survey being conducted in respect of the east coast harbours but I urge that in the meantime dredging work be commenced at Balbriggan.
Together with Rodgerstown, Balbriggan and Skerries are the main harbours in north County Dublin. Sailing and boating generally are becoming very popular in this area. There is no control in many of the estuaries and little inlets on the coastline which are not directly under the control of the Port and Docks Board or of any harbour authority with the result that a certain conflict is building up between the commercial operators, such as fisherman or, in the case of Malahide, a shipyard, and private interests, the weekend sailors. Therefore, I would like to see some authority being given to the Office of Public Works which would enable them to prepare a plan of the moorings and, consequently, ensure some control. In Malahide where there is a large estuary, the channel is very narrow so that when some of the leisure craft tie up to moorings there they are preventing the shipyard from using the channel to gain access to the sea. The operation concerned for the Board of Works would be only minor but would entail in the first instance bringing together all the local interests concerned—public, private and commercial—to discuss where the moorings should be placed and so on. This would make for a much better situation than the haphazard one which prevails at present in these small inlets around our coastline. Perhaps the Parliamentary Secretary would arrange for some officers of his Department to act as liaison officers in this matter. It is hardly a matter for legislation but merely for the application of common sense.
In relation to leisure craft and the increasing popularity of boating as a hobby there is a problem in Skerries. It was proposed to build a slipway there which would be used by the local sailing club. Originally there was provisional agreement between the Department and the county council on the question of the sharing of the expenditure that would be involved in this work but there have been no developments recently. An examination was to have been undertaken by the Office of Public Works and I wonder whether any progress has been made in this regard. The provision of a slipway at Skerries is of particular importance to the area and to the tourist industry generally because it would give Skerries the opportunity of hosting one of the world's sailing competitions. The bringing of any such competition to the area is dependent on the slipway being provided. Therefore, I urge that the investigation in this regard be speeded up so that work can be commenced as soon as possible.
Because the Office of Public Works have responsibilities for so many different areas of activity the Parliamentary Secretary's speech of necessity, was wide ranging. One of the matters referred to was the construction of Garda stations and in particular the one at Swords. Some time ago I was assured that this work was going to tender and I note that it is hoped to place a contract shortly. I ask that no shortage of finance be allowed impede in any way the construction of this station. After the setting up of the force the Swords station was the first to be occupied outside the Dublin metropolitan area so the least they are entitled to after all this time is a new station.
This brings me to the whole problem of facilities for the Garda in north County Dublin. Most of the stations were built at a time when County Dublin was a rural area and when the vast increases in population that have taken place since then along the city fringe area were not envisaged. I refer to Swords, Portmarnock, Rush, Skerries and all those other stations. I would like to see some progress made in improving the facilities for the people in north County Dublin generally.
The Parliamentary Secretary gave a list of certain works which were to be carried out in the various embassies. When I spoke on this Estimate last year I mentioned the consulate at Hamburg. The previous speaker, my colleague, Deputy Leonard, was in Copenhagen. I was on a parliamentary trip to Germany and visited the consulate in Hamburg. It also needs renovation. I do not see it on the list of jobs to be done. I would like it to be looked at again. Last year I suggested that rather than renting a number of those premises we should examine, from an economic point of view, the advisability of buying rather than renting property abroad. We have had some of our embassies for a long time. They have been on long leases and I am sure we could have an opportunity of purchasing them now. I would like the Parliamentary Secretary to look at this matter.
All Deputies are concerned with the facilities in the House generally. I mentioned one morning, on the Order of Business, the industrial dispute which prevented proper heating being provided in the House for Members, staff and visitors. While today is a mild day we had problems earlier on when the weather was cold. I hope the Parliamentary Secretary is doing something to see that this dispute is not allowed continue any longer. I am very pleased with the increased accommodation on the fourth floor where I work. Since some of the staff moved across the road to Setanta House it is much more comfortable and conducive to work.
The Parliamentary Secretary told us today, in relation to the provision of a concert hall:
Planning is well advanced on a scheme for the adaptation for concert hall purposes of portion of the UCD premises at Earlsfort Terrace. It is hoped that it will be possible to complete the planning stage by the end of this year which would allow of a start being made on the adaptations in 1977, but this will depend on how soon the UCD authorities can release the space required.
Would the Parliamentary Secretary let us know exactly what progress has been made with the UCD authorities about releasing the hall in Earlsfort Terrace for use as a concert hall? The need for a proper concert hall in the city and for the country generally must be as obvious to the Parliamentary Secretary as it is to the country at large. I hope he has been able to examine this matter and that he will be able to let us know what are the hopes of starting work next year.
As usual, the Parliamentary Secretary had something to say about the facilities in the Phoenix Park. This is one of the great loves of the ex-Parliamentary Secretary, Deputy Lemass, who was very conscious of the amenity value of the Phoenix Park to the people of Dublin. The Zoological Gardens are one of the greatest attractions in the Phoenix Park. I would like to see some extra land provided by the Board of Works for the extension of the zoological grounds. A large number of riding schools use the Phoenix Park and the stables adjacent to it. It would be a great idea if there was something in the Phoenix Park similar to that provided in Hyde Park, London, where there is a special riding track reserved for horses. It is only on that track that horses are allowed. There is a sand track right around the perimeter of this area. Something similar should be provided in the Phoenix Park. We should not have areas all over the park torn up by horses. This would be avoided if a special track was provided.
The Parliamentary Secretary referred to national monuments. In Swords, where I live, we have a magnificent old castle. A very hard-working organisation there, the Swords Progressive Preservation Society, collected a sum of money and lodged it with the Department with a view to having some preservation work carried out on this castle. It will take quite a lot of work but I have no doubt, with the goodwill that exists in the area, that a lot of voluntary work will be put into it. I would like to see some examination made of this castle so that it can be restored.
We have Martello Towers right along the coast line of County Dublin. They have been there since the Napoleonic wars. I would like to see them preserved. I am always afraid that somebody will buy one, knock it down and that some development work will take place on the site. I should like to see some importance and significance being given to them by the Office of Public Works.
In various sections of this Estimate there are references to different Government buildings with different staff accommodation, and so on. This brings me back to the question of the purchase as distinct from leasing of these buildings. After the general election when the Parliamentary Secretary's predecessor took office, in his first speech he referred to the goal of purchasing office blocks as distinct from leasing them.
