Pier pressure in Cork County Hall
Cork County Council will proceed with plans to close off a section of a popular West Cork pier despite passionate objections from councillors and local residents.
Recent news of plans to close a portion of Keelbeg Pier in Union Hall for health and safety reasons has sparked outrage in the West Cork village.
The pier was built in 1885 and is used regularly for social, leisure, and tourism activity, as well as by local fishermen and rowing clubs.
In response to the plans, a delegation of Union Hall residents attended Tuesday’s full meeting of Cork County Council where a motion was brought before the executive on behalf of the West Cork Municipal District. Prior to the meeting, the residents staged a protest outside County Hall. The motion called on the council to suspend its plans to close off a portion of the pier until an alternative solution can be found. The decision to install barriers comes following a structural survey carried out on the pier in 2020 by Byrne Looby Consulting Engineers which found it to be in poor structural condition.
Despite repeated requests from councillors for the plans to be delayed until a more comprehensive survey is completed and government funding is secured for restoration, Chief Executive Tim Lucey said the council would be proceeding with the plans at the “earliest possible date”.
Mr Lucey said: “I have a very significant responsibility when that type of report is presented to me. It is accepted that a further structural survey needs to be carried out but it's very clear that a portion of the pier should be closed off.”
Later, Independent Cllr Paul Hayes accused Mr Lucey of “picking and choosing” from the 2020 Byrne Looby report, asking why the installation of barriers was the only action being taken when the report has been “sitting on a desk for the last 3 years”.
“It (the report) also references a recommendation to invest, and recommends that further structural works are investigated, so to emphasise and pick out of that whole report that the only thing we need to action straight away is to install this barrier, that's appalling to be honest with you,” said Cllr Hayes.
My Lucey rejected Cllr Hayes’ comments, saying he was “out of order” and requesting that he withdraw his accusation. Cllr Hayes later apologised for “upsetting” the Chief Executive and asked that alternative solutions be considered such as the installation of a pontoon.
According to Fianna Fáil Cllr Joe Carroll, the main “downfall” surrounding the issue was a lack of communication between County Hall and the people of Union Hall. “The people were never dealt with properly. Like, there's no such thing as discussing things with the people?
“If they want to block it off for safety reasons, why did they do it without a plan B? There is no plan B in place and that's what's annoying the people down there. They know if there's barriers put across that pier, that pier could wind up locked forever more and demolished.”
Independent Cllr Karen Coakley added: “I welcome all our friends from Union Hall. They're all working people and they've all given up their day to come up here, that's how important this is It would be good if they could go home with some hope.” Later, the Chief Executive reaffirmed that the barriers will be put in place at the earliest date possible and that further surveys will be needed before government funding is applied for, a process that can take up to 15 months.