Dept examines possible marina extension
THE Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is to examine the possibility of extending the marina facilities in Dingle Harbour so that it can accommodate more small boats.
The Department is currently seeking tenders from consultancy firms with expertise in civil and marine engineering for a €200,000 contract “to prepare a preliminary report, detailed design, tender documentation, works and handover stages for a proposed new small craft harbour project at An Daingean Fishery Harbour Centre”.
The development, if it goes ahead, would see a new marina built on the outside (ie on the Burnham side) of the western breakwater to cater for small craft such as leisure boats and visiting yachts.
The work would also involve the construction of a new breakwater, running parallel with the ‘dog leg’ section of the existing western breakwater.
A Dept of the Marine official told The Kerryman that the tender currently being advertised is for an exploratory project, intended only to examine the engineering and construction challenges that would be involved in building a new marina. At this point in time there is no plan to actually go ahead with such a development.
Meanwhile, The Dept of the Marine is also seeking planning permission to demolish the old ice plant on the Quay. The ice plant, which has been idle for may years, was previously owned by BIM but ownership transferred to the Dept of the Marine in recent months. Engineers subsequently examined the building and concluded it was only fit to be knocked.
The Kerryman understands that the plan is to clean up the ice plant site an leave it as an open area with public access. It is possible that the Dept of the Marine could also come an arrangement with Kerry County Council to swap space that could be used for road widening at the front of the ice plant in exchange for council owned land at the back of the building.