Failure to install Mayo island pontoon before the summer is a 'disgrace'
Achill councillor Paul McNamara questioned why the pontoon at Dugort pier has not been installed this summer
A pontoon which was supposed to be installed on a Mayo island at the beginning of May has yet to be delivered according to a local councillor.
Achill-based councillor Paul McNamara described as a disgrace the failure by Mayo County Council to install a floating pontoon at Dugort pier on Achill Island.
The pontoon was first installed at Dugort pier in 2024 and used primarily for the summer months to bring tourists on tours of Blacksod Bay and views of the Croaghaun Cliffs which are the highest sea cliffs in Europe.
At the end of the summer season last year, the pontoon was taken up by Mayo County Council and placed in storage with the intention of installing it again for the May Bank Holiday weekend.
However, Cllr McNamara told the monthly meeting of the Westport/Belmullet Municipal District on July 31 that despite assurances it would be installed for the beginning of July it is still not there.
“I have got no phone call or correspondence since that meeting [in June] to say why it wasn't installed or what the problem was. I think it is an absolute disgrace that this has happened because there are four weeks before the kids go back to school which determines a lot of our holiday traffic.
“It was always the agreement that it would be taken away for the winter and installed for the May Bank Holiday weekend and it didn't happen. We went into a massive effort to secure funding for a pontoon to be installed in Dugort and we didn't bother our behind to put it out. I think it is ridiculous for the local community and the people who come to that area,” he said.
The pontoon at Dugort Pier had allowed boat owners to collect passengers at the north end of the island in a safe manner for trips around Blacksod Bay and a link with the Mullet Peninsula.
Cllr McNamara added: “It is a marvellous facility and yet we get to this situation where we can't put it out.”
At the June meeting of the municipal district, the Head of Marine, Michael O'Boyle said that the pontoon had been damaged last year and he didn't want to put it out too early and have it 'wrecked beyond being operational'.
Heather Gibbons, Engineer with Mayo County Council informed Cllr McNamara that they will raise the issue regarding the pontoon with the Head of Marine.