The Dursey Cable car was closed this week for the fourth time since it reopened in June, after 14 month of repairs.
And the constant closures are now damaging its reputation for reliability, according to a West Cork TD.
‘Everyone is hoping that the latest two-day stoppage is the last time that the service will be disrupted,’ said Independent TD Michael Collins.
At 1.15pm last Sunday, Cork County Council staff, following a technical review, closed the service with immediate effect. The Council posted a statement saying the service would be closed Monday and Tuesday and gave an undertaking to provide a ferry to ensure transport for members of the public, including those already on the island, back to the mainland.
Locals told The Southern Star they were not informed about the stoppage, which left them feeling frustrated and annoyed.
The car was officially reopened, after 14 months of repairs, on June 9th. But on June 24th, it was closed for four days to fix a braking release issue.
Again, on July 6th, due to a fault in the ESB network, it was again closed. And, again on July 13th, it closed between 9.30am and 3pm for ‘maintenance and inspection’.
‘As Ireland’s only cable car,’ Deputy Collins said, ‘it is an invaluable tourist attraction, and is a huge bonus to the Beara peninsula, but if tourists believe the service is unreliable it could do untold damage to tourism in the region.’
‘The Dursey stakeholders, too, are at the mercy of the system,’ he said. ‘Cork County Council has to be very clear if there are any issues so people can be confident about a reliable service.’
This week Cork County Council told The Southern Star: ‘Cork County Council minimises disruption to the cable car service by scheduling maintenance and as (sic) possible, by planning downtime. It is inevitable however that unforeseen events, breakdowns and power outages will affect the service from time to time.’
