All a-piers well for major Doolin projects

Two major infrastructure projects in Doolin, the development of a new pier and coast guard station, valued at more than €7 million, moved a step closer to conclusion this week, The Clare Champion can reveal.

 

Complex conveyancing issues that held up the building of a €2m coastguard station in Doolin have finally been resolved. The Office of Public Works this week confirmed to the ‘Champion that the site has been transferred to the Commissioners of Public Works. Planning permission for the proposed station had already been granted and this week’s announcement clears the way for the tendering process to begin.

Separately, Clare County Council confirmed that it has submitted an Environmental Impact

Statement for a new pier in the North Clare village to An Bord Pleanála. The board had requested the statement in relation to the €5 million development in September last year following an appeal. One local councillor says he hopes that An Bord Pleanála will make a final decision by the end of September.

“I hope An Bord Pleanála will treat this as a matter of extreme urgency,” said Councillor Richard Nagle.

“It has already been delayed for over a year. We should be at the construction stage by now. It is imperative we get a decision quickly to allow the build to proceed,” he commented.

Station officer with the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard, Mattie Shannon, said he is thrilled with the news in relation to both projects.

“The submission of an EIS for the pier is a move forward and now we are at the final stage of it. We were at this stage before but the council had to go back and complete an EIS. We are pleased the council has pushed it and brought it to this stage so quickly,” he commented.

“We are delighted that plans for a new station are making progress too. Every step forward is one in the right direction. The director of the Irish Coast Guard, Chris Reynolds has given us his word that Doolin is the next station to be built after the Killybegs one and the Killybegs one has already started,” Mr Shannon said.

While the Doolin unit is one of the country’s busiest, the crew has been operating from a building that Mr Shannon described as “inadequate”. There is not enough room to store equipment, there are no changing rooms and no toilets.

“We have the best of equipment, a new 9-metre Delta Rib which we got this time last year and we have 200 hours activity done on that between training and safety rescues.

“We have an upgraded D-class boat, and we have received three new vehicles all in the last year. But we are currently using a farm store to hold our equipment and this puts pressure on us to take our equipment to the pier whenever there is an incident. It would be ideal to have it onsite at the pier and we hope we won’t have to wait too long for that. We will keep Chris Reynolds to his word,” Mr Shannon said.

Ennistymon councillor Richard Nagle described the news as “long overdue”.

“This is extremely good news for everyone in the rescue services and all those who are involved in any type of water-based recreational active,” he said.

“This moves the process a stage closer to when the coast guard service will have the state-of-the-art building that they have waited for, for so long and that they so richly deserve.

“The provision of these facilities will enable them to continue the excellent work they have been doing and provide a first-class service to locals and tourists alike who enjoy the wide range of water based recreational activity that the coastline provides,” he went on.

“One would hope that when it goes to tender that a local company would be successful in the tendering process and provide much needed employment in the construction of the facility at a time when there is very little employment opportunities available,” Councillor Nagle added.