Council rejects surfers’ pier criticism

Clare County Council senior engineer Tom Tiernan has rejected claims made last week by the West Coast Surf Club that the local authority has “not managed to engage in any meaningful manner with the surfing community” on the Doolin Pier project.
“Clare County Council wishes to absolutely refute statements by West Coast Surf Club in relation to the proposed Doolin Pier development and the consultation that has taken place between the council and the surfing community through the course of planning procedures,” Mr Tiernan declared.
“It is important to point out that the surfing community is not the only stakeholder upon which the pier development could have an impact.  This development, if approved, will have a significant impact on the commercial, residential and tourism-orientated communities in both North Clare and the Aran Islands and the many stakeholders associated with these interests are entitled to equal and fair consultation opportunities in this context,” he continued.
Mr Tiernan noted Clare County Council has the responsibility to ensure that consultation procedures operate fairly and that no single entity has an unfair advantage, perceived or otherwise, in terms of influencing the ultimate outcome.
“Clare County Council has taken its responsibilities in this regard very seriously.  In fact, if one were to argue that any single entity was consulted with more than others or availed of consultation opportunities to a greater extent than others, such an argument would marginally favour the surfing community.
“The West Coast Surf Club alleges that more than 30 letters were written to Clare County Council and that only two or three received replies.  I totally refute this suggestion.  While I haven’t counted the number of letters written, I can say that, where appropriate, responses were made and issues raised in such correspondence were addressed.  In many cases, correspondence submitted by the West Coast Surf Club was in respect of or related to the ongoing formal planning process.  In such circumstances, it is not appropriate to engage outside of the planning process while it is ongoing.  Any issues raised by the surfing community before the commencement of the planning process and during it have received and are continuing to receive detailed consideration and the points of view articulated by the West Coast Surf Club and the Irish Surfing Association and any other members of the surfing community who have participated in the process will have been fully considered before the final outcome is concluded,” the senior council official stated.
Mr Tiernan said it is totally wrong the West Coast Surf Club would suggest that the two meetings held exclusively with them were “brief, non-committal meetings”.  He said these meetings attended by senior council personnel and their consultants were lengthy, detailed and from the council’s point of view, were motivated by an endeavour to understand as clearly as possible the issues being raised by surfers. 
“As a result, the approach taken in analysing the potential impact on waves was influenced by information and suggestions provided by surfers at these meetings.  In addition, at a public consultation event held in Doolin in January 2012 to consider various pier location options, the surfing community actively engaged with the council and other stakeholders over a period of six hours – all of the issues raised on foot of that event were considered in detail in the preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement, which is now under consideration by An Bord Pleanála.
“On a relatively minor point, the suggestion that the provision of shower facilities for surfers was not requested by surfers is incorrect – they are incorporated in the current proposal because members of the surfing community specifically requested them,” Mr Tiernan concluded.