BY JACKIE KEOGH
PUBLIC representatives have called on Cork County Council to meet the people of Union Hall ‘half-way’ by putting a pontoon in place near the old Keelbeg Pier.
The community and the Council clashed after the local authority sought to close off a portion of the pier – which is located adjacent to the commercial pier – for health and safety reasons. It was Cllr Joe Carroll (FF) who proposed at a meeting of the western divisional committee that a pontoon is needed by the community for leisure activities.
Cllr Paul Hayes (Ind) acknowledged that the local authority is seeking funding for a costly master plan – believed to be more than €200,000 – for the overall development of the bay area. However, he said they seem to be ‘going in circles.’
He suggested it is ‘a simple enough project to reinstate the old pier. We don’t need a master plan for that.’
Cllr Hayes agreed that a pontoon would be a good, short-term solution, while Cllr Karen Coakley (Ind) noted that the community had come out in large numbers to prevent a barrier being put in place.
‘You can’t take something away without putting something in its place,’ she suggested.
Acting county engineer Liam Ahearn said there is a lot of preparatory work involved in devising a master plan which would cover all aspects of development. Mr Ahearn said they are now looking at the funding options but would need national funding for the Union Hall plan.
As for the provision of a pontoon, Mr Ahern said that would require departmental funding. Several councillors pointed out that a lot of pier improvement works have been carried out throughout West Cork as part of a Brexit fund.
They asked if further funding would be made available under this scheme in 2024 but the engineer said it was his understanding the €14m Brexit fund, otherwise known as the ‘Balami’, finishes this year.
‘We don’t know yet if there is going to be a roll-over,’ he said. ‘We are hoping there will be because we were able to get a huge amount of work done under that fund.’
