Dursey residents left in suspense

UPDATE: There has been a last-minute breakthrough in the Dursey Island dilemma which could have left residents stranded for eight months.

Following mounting pressure from residents, farmers, and county councillors, Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys has confirmed that her department will pay an estimated €240,000 for the provision of a daily ferry service to the island.

The Mayor of the County of Cork Cllr Gillian Coughlan welcomed the announcement of funding for a temporary replacement service.

“Cork County Council will undertake a procurement process to procure this temporary ferry service. It is the intention of the Cork County Council and the Department to put this service in place as soon as possible.

“While we are all aware of the necessity to pause the cable car service, I have been acutely aware of the requirement to provide a temporary ferry service to facilitate the Dursey Island farmers and residents and am very pleased that Minister Humphreys has agreed to support this service,” she said.

Minister Humphreys said: “I think a lot of stress and anxiety for the Dursey Island farmers and residents could have been avoided if consultation had of taken place at an earlier stage but nevertheless the most important thing is that a service will be provided.”

ORIGINAL STORY:

Less than 24 hours remain before the residents of Dursey Island are completely cut off from the mainland by the closure of the island’s cable car service.

The eight-month closure for repairs was announced in early February, however, with less than a day to go, no alternate means of access to the island have been put in place.

Dursey has two permanent residents and is used by eight farmers who travel to and from the island daily to tend to livestock.

The Mayor of County Cork Cllr Gillian Coughlan is now seeking a last minute face to face sit down with Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys in order to “thrash out” a solution.

Residents, farmers and elected members of Cork County Council are all calling on the minister and her department to agree to pay for a ferry service to and from the island. The service is estimated to cost €1,000 per day for the planned 240 day closure.

“I'm disappointed there is not more of an effort from the department to offer some assistance to the people who are using Dursey Island and to the local residents in particular,” said the mayor.

She added: “The time for emails back and forth is gone.”

To find an early solution, Cork County Council Chief Executive Tim Lucey wrote a letter to Minister Humphreys at the beginning of March.

In the letter he wrote: “This council does not have the remit for the licensing of ferry operators. The council is, however, available to engage as necessary with ferry operators in conjunction and with the support of the Department of Rural and Community Development who may decide to apply for license for said department to operate a ferry service from council managed facilities on the mainland and on Dursey Island.”

Independent West Cork Cllr Declan Hurley said that, at the very least, the minister should travel to West Cork to see how serious the situation is for herself.

“If the Dursey cable car was opening, the minister would be fast to come down and cut the tape. I think at the very least the minister should come down and meet with the residents,” he said.

International attention

First reported locally and then nationally, it seems the plight of the Dursey Island residents and farmers is now of international interest.

Speaking at Monday’s meeting of Cork County Council, Independent West Cork Cllr Danny Collins revealed he had been contacted by British news organisation Sky News in relation to the cable car’s closure.

Cllr Collins said: “Yesterday evening I got a phone call from Sky News who are coming down during the week to interview the people on the island. It's drawing worldwide attention now. Something has to be done.”

Independent West Cork Cllr Paul Hayes added: “This was thrown at us in early February and here we are with a couple of days to go before the cable car service is due to be withdrawn and we're still talking about finding a possible solution. It's playing out on national and now international media.

“Clearly there's a huge breakdown here between the council and the department. There's a game of brinkmanship or something going on here with the last number of weeks and it's really unfortunate.”

The Dursey Island cable car will close for a major maintenance programme tomorrow, Friday, and is set to reopen on 30 November.