2026-03-19

86. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update regarding funding for piers in Connemara; when Galway County Council will be notified regarding same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20926/26]

I am seeking an update on funding for piers across Connemara. As the Minister will be aware, this is an extremely important matter, especially for those who rely on the piers in Connemara.

As the Deputy may be aware, our Department operates and maintains six designated State-owned fishery harbour centres, located at Castletownbere, Dingle, Dunmore East, Howth, Killybegs and Ros an Mhíl in her own constituency. Additionally, our Department has responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance of north harbour at Cape Clear, as well as the maintenance of a small number of specific piers, one of which is Cleggan in the Deputy's constituency, which may be what she has in mind here, as well as in relation to lights and beacons throughout Ireland, in accordance with the ex-congested district board piers, lights and beacons Act 1902. The responsibility for the development and maintenance of local authority-owned piers, harbours and slipways rests with each local authority in the first instance and their parent Department, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage thereafter. Therefore, it is the responsibility of Galway County Council to progress any possible works in relation to piers in Connemara, of which Cleggan is somewhat an outlier, because our Department has some responsibility there in consultation with the local authority, which also has part ownership of the pier. However, our Department, as part of its annual fishery harbour and coastal infrastructure development programme, does provide limited discretionary funding to coastal local authorities for the implementation of small-scale projects focused on the development and repair of piers, harbours and slipways under their ownership. Accordingly, on 16 February, I announced €4.3 million in funding under the local authority marine infrastructure scheme for 2026. Under this scheme, my Department will co-fund up to 75% of the eligible project costs, up to a maximum of €187,500 reimbursement where eligible, per project, with the local authority providing the balance. The deadline for local authorities to submit project proposals for funding under this scheme was 9 March. I am pleased to inform the Deputy of the large volume of project proposals submitted to my Department within the timeline. In fact, applications were submitted by every coastal local authority, including Galway County Council. Any applications for funding for capital works at piers in Connemara that may have been submitted by Galway County Council under the 2026 scheme will be given due consideration, taking into account the available funding and the terms of the scheme.

Tuigim an méid atá á rá ag an Aire Stáit faoi Chomhairle Chontae na Gaillimhe agus an ról atá aige féin ann. Is í an fhadhb atá ann ná nach mbíonn an maoiniú ar fáil ag an gcomhairle contae chun an infheistíocht atá ag teastáil sna céanna a chur ar fáil agus an obair a dhéanamh a bhfuilimid ag caint fúithi. Mar shampla, ar Chaladh Gholaim i Leitir Mealláin, tá siad ag caint ar dheisiúchán ó 2024 ar aghaidh. Tá an cás déanta chuig an gcomhairle contae ach níl an maoiniú ann. I thank the Minister of State for his response. Galway County Council has a serious role there but the issue is a lack of funding for that. There is an issue with one particular pier, Caladh Gholaim, which has been ongoing since 2024. The council says it applied for funding from the Department. We need to make sure that funding is available in order that this can be done.

That is an issue right around the coastline. The funding we provide to local authorities is relatively small, and an input is required from them. It is really only suitable for minor upgrade works. I am conscious that there are others, including Cleggan and a number of others that Deputies from Deputy Farrell’s constituency and elsewhere have been in touch with me about . That scheme does not meet the needs. I am in discussions with a number of Departments, including the Departments of rural affairs and tourism, because there is a recognition that not everything relates to fishing. Leisure activities and the potential for some offshore renewable energy activity must also be taken into account. Over time, we need to develop a more comprehensive approach to addressing the deterioration in the quality of some of these facilities. I have seen quite a number of them. They do not fall within the scheme that is there. They are not owned directly by our Department yet the local authorities do not have the funding to address them. There is a bit of a gap there. We are trying to work on a solution that might involve a number of Departments which have line responsibility.

Táim sásta é sin a chloisteáil. Tá sé ríthábhachtach go mbeadh muid in ann díriú ar na céanna sin agus ar an mbuninfreastruchtúr sin ionas go mbeadh sé ann don phobal atá ina chónaí ann freisin. I welcome that because I think it is important that there is recognition we need to look at exactly how we will fund these. There has been a lack of funding for basic infrastructure across Connemara, and we need to look at how we do that. It is good to look at it from a cross-departmental point of view in order to ensure that funding is available. It is not just piers; it is also bridges and roads. More often than not, I hear that funding is not available. I am sure the council would like to do it if it could. Is maith an rud é sin. Sílim, ach go háirithe má bhreathnaímid ar an mbuninfreastruchtúr ina iomláine i gConamara, mar shampla, na droichid agus na bóithre chomh maith leis na céanna, tá go leor infheistíochta ag teastáil. Is maith an rud é go bhfuil an Roinn ag breathnú air seo agus go bhfuilimid ag breathnú ar roinnt Ranna atá in ann cabhrú leis.

I fully get that. I saw in the case of Connemara where part of Cleggan is owned by our Department and part by the local authority. There was a comprehensive plan there which was probably too large in scale. While everyone liked it, nobody was able to come up with the comprehensive amount of money. I have suggested to them that they might look at a slimmed down version and we can see how we manage that. In that case, while there is some fishing activity there it is relatively small but there is a really important ferry service going out to the islands that is of vital importance. There are certain times where there is a safety issue there. Deputies Conor D. McGuinness and Mary Butler have a similar issue down in Waterford, which I have also witnessed. The pier at Heilbhic does not qualify for any of the supports that are available at the moment. In the case of Heilbhic, it is impossible to get the RNLI boat out in certain circumstances. We have to look at all this in a more comprehensive way in order to identify the areas where we need to do it. We also need to look at a more broadly based scheme.