Transfer of Dun Laoghaire Harbour to democratic local control and dissolution of Harbour Company quango – a victory for people power!
Mad-cap plans for privatised development must end -Harbour and community stakeholders must now have a real say in future of unique heritage and amenity harbour.
In a statement, Richard Boyd Barrett TD for People Before Profit and chairperson of the Save Our Seafront group, has hailed the formal transfer of Dun Laoghaire Harbour into the ownership of Dun Laoghaire Co Council and the dissolution of Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company, which was signed-off by government yesterday, as a “huge victory for people power, local democracy and many years of campaigning by the Save Our Seafront group.”
Over the last decade, the Save Our Seafront group, along with other local community, environmental and stakeholder groups had campaigned successfully against repeated attempts by the Harbour company to develop high-rise private apartment and hotel developments in the Harbour, and most recently had spearheaded a successful campaign against a plan to develop a giant cruise berth in the harbour, which would put much of the harbour off-limits for local harbour users and done serious damage to the unique marine, heritage, and amenity environment of the harbour.
In recent years, Save Our Seafront, with widespread public support, had run a sustained campaign of pressure on the Minister for Transport to fully dissolve the Harbour Company and bring it under local democratic control.
Save Our Seafront along with other local groups and harbour users had long campaigned for the development of genuine public amenities in the harbour, such as a publicly run, National Maritime and Water-sports centre and a Diaspora Museum to commemorate the harbour’s unique heritage.
Deputy Boyd Barrett said the transfer of the Harbour and the dissolution of the Harbour Company was “long overdue” and “opens the possibility of leaving behind years of conflict with the local community, over repeated attempts by the Harbour Company to privatize the harbour with wholly inappropriate plans for large-scale commercial developments, such as apartment blocks, hotels and most recently a giant cruise berth.”
Deputy Boyd Barrett described the Harbour Company as: “a totally unaccountable quango that was constantly dreaming-up mad-cap plans for profit-driven developments that would have ruined this unique amenity harbour and precious piece of local and national heritage.”
He said: “With the Harbour now under Council control, the public can have a real say in the protection and future development of the Harbour and could ensure that the harbour was developed to its full potential as a public amenity for all.
“It is vital that the Council now establish a genuinely representative community and harbour users’ stakeholder group that will have real input into the future development of the harbour.”
Deputy Boyd Barrett said he would also be calling on the Minister’s for Culture & Heritage, Environment & Local Government and Transport to contribute financially to the protection and development of the harbour in recognition of its “national importance as a totally unique part of the country’s marine and architectural heritage and cultural history.”
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