Upgrades opened at Haulbowline

The newly upgraded Spencer Jetty and refurbished Block 8 Accommodation Block at Haulbowline Naval Base have been officially opened.

The refurbishment of Block 8 is a €4.2m project which upgraded this listed building at Haulbowline Naval Base, to accommodate 70 living-in naval service personnel stationed at Haulbowline Naval Base.

Built in 1822, Block 8 is included on the Cork County Council Record of Protected Structures and the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) rates it as a building of regional importance.

The €3m Spencer Jetty project is part of a plan to increase berthing capacity for the current fleet in 3 distinct standalone infrastructural projects, with the Spencer Jetty Upgrade delivered as Phase 1.

The upgrade of Spencer Jetty has successfully stabilised the structure to protect the sea entrance to the Naval Service Dockyard and Basin. The upgraded jetty now provides short-term berthage for naval service vessels.

Minister Simon Coveney TD, officially opened the jetty and refurbished block.

He said: “The naval service are seeing significant improvements here on Haulbowline Island. In addition to these recently completed projects, there are a further 7 projects to be progressed in the naval base in the coming years at an estimated cost of

€76m.

“The refurbishment of further listed buildings will commence with Block 9 being next on the list. This will provide much-needed office space for the naval service. Block 4 will also be refurbished, and this will provide accommodation for a further 60 personnel. These projects are already well into their design stage.”

He added: “All those who worked extremely hard to bring this project to fruition. I particularly want to thank the personnel in the Directorate of Engineering and within the Department of Defence for their hard work on both of these projects.

“I’d like to congratulate O’Shea’s Builders Ltd on the fantastic work they’ve done on Block 8, and Cunningham/Quinn, for completing the complex Spencer Jetty project to an extremely high standard.”