Purteen Harbour to cost €5.4m

Purteen Harbour to cost €5.4m to redevelop

Anton McNulty

A REPORT by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food into the redevelopment of Purteen Harbour on Achill Island has recommended a development costing nearly €2 million more than the original proposal.

In 2002, the Purteen Harbour Committee released a report which proposed a €3.7 million redevelopment of the harbour which has fallen into disrepair. Mayo County Council commissioned engineering consultants Michael Punch & Partner to look at the viability of the project and stated that it was worth developing.

However, the then Department of the Marine was not satisfied with the ‘fundamentals’ of the report and decided to commission its own report.

That report was received by Mayo County Council two weeks ago and Council Engineer, Michael Mongan told last week’s meeting of the Belmullet Electoral Area committee that it was cost €5.4 million. He explained the plan proposed to dredge the basin, remove one of the piers, put in a new slipway and a design a new inlet which will allow boats to access and exit the harbour.

The new report was met with skepticism from some of the councillors who asked how, after waiting eight years for a report, it was more expensive than the original design. Cllr Michael Holmes said he believed that €350,000 was spent on reports and asked where the funding would be found.

“If €350,000 had been spent in Purteen, they [Harbour Committee] would have been delighted with that money and would have solved most of the problems. The reality is that they will not get €350,000 to spend because there is no bloody money for it,” he said.

Cllr MicheΡl McNamara said that Purteen was a ‘magnet’ in the summer months with locals and visitors trying to launch boats but is in a bad state. He added the the local committee was very active and said that when money becomes available, redeveloping it should be a number one priority.

However, Director of Services Joe Beirne painted a grim picture of the prospect of funding being made available because Purteen is not in a Gaeltacht area and Achill did not qualify for off-shore island funding.

“The problem with Purteen is that most harbours or piers which received funding were in Gaeltacht areas or were off shore islands. There are a number of piers that need funding and Purteen is one of them but the only source of funding is from the Department of the Marine. The only hope of funding is from this Department and they won’t have that kind of funding for the foreseeable future,” he said.

A fisherman who uses Purteen Harbour told The Mayo News that at the moment they have to moor their boats in other piers because there is no shelter in Purteen. He added that the concrete is falling off the pier and needs dredging but was told the Council does not have the money to do it.

“This would be great if it does get done but it is a lot of money and what we need is the harbour to be secure to leave our boats there in the winter because from October we can’t do that. If we get the funding, all good and well but it is an enormous price. Maybe we could get €2 million now and get it repaired they can do the rest of the job later because if they let it go much further it will collapse into the sea,” he said.