THE high volume of boats tied up at Bere Island’s western pier has been described as dangerous.
Cllr Danny Collins (Ind Ire) tabled a motion at the West Cork Municipal District meeting calling for a new pontoon to be added in a bid to improve safety and alleviate congestion.
Cllr Collins claimed that boats are currently four-deep at the pier and he suggested it was ‘an accident waiting to happen’.
‘This is an island with 200 people living on it and people are being asked to climb over other boats to get to their own,’ he said.
He cited one example of a parent who has to leave his children unattended in a car while he clambers over boats to access his own vessel.
Cllr Collins claimed there is confusion over who owns the pier – Cork County Council or the department. But whoever owns it, he said, funding is needed for a new pontoon.
‘They deserve the infrastructure,’ Cllr Patrick Gerard Murphy (FF) said in agreement.
‘We need to make access as safe as possible, especially as it is the only access to the island,’ he said.
Meanwhile, Cllr Finbarr Harrington (Ind) called for an extension to the slip to cater for ‘big moon tides.’
Senior executive officer Noreen O’Mahony told the councillors that the ownership and responsibility for Oileán na gCaorach has yet to be clarified.
‘This is a complex situation due to a number of legislative changes that have occurred over the years, but legal advice has been received and is being considered,’ she added.
The senior executive officer said clarification will be needed before the Council could consider investing in the pier.
