Dominick Donnelly

20th May 2009

Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for the Carrigaline area of Cork County Council, has welcomed An Bord Pleanála’s decision to grant planning permission for Harbour Cat Ferries for their landing stations at Passage West and Monkstown.

Cllr. Donnelly said: “It is great news for the harbour communities that Harbour Cat Ferries has now got planning permission for its landing stations at Passage West and Monkstown. I hope that the service can get up and running soon, following their previous planning permissions for their landing stations at Cobh, Crosshaven and in the City at Horgan’s Quay. While some concerns have been expressed by members of the community about the proposed service, I think it will prove to be a very valuable service to the community. Passage West Rowing Club had expressed particular concerns, in the fear that they will lose the part of the river in which they row to the jetty for the ferry. I am sure that with proper consultation, any issues can be satisfactorily resolved. An Bord Pleanála’s inspector has recommended that a river usage management plan be put in place, and that would be a very welcome development.”

Cllr. Donnelly continued: “I first put down a motion to Passage West Town Council seeking a waterbus service such as this about four years ago. However none of the statutory bodies wished to pursue it, and it fell to a private operator to get the service up and running. It will prove to be vitally important in the future to have a variety of transport options available, as cars will become more and more expensive to run due to the rising price of oil as it starts to run out. Hopefully this will be the start of Cork Harbour’s road to achieving its potential as the national centre for heritage, tourism and culture it should be.”