Councillor Liam O’Connor (FG) has called for funds to be made available to erect a pontoon in the Owenabue River, Carrigaline to support the increase of water activities on the river. The request was made on Monday afternoon at the January meeting of the Carrigaline Municipal District Meeting in County Hall.
Councillor O’Connor proposes that the pontoon could be placed in the estuary, in order to make the river more accessible for those who seek to use it for activities. In recent months kayaking has become particularly popular in the area and the Fine Gael councillor has said that he has liaised with local water activity group, ‘FunkyTown Adventure Centre’. He went on to say that following some information gathering, Cllr. O’Connor realised that by choosing certain dimensions the project would not need planning permission.
In support of Councillor O’Connor were fellow representatives, Councillors Marcia D’Alton (Ind), Ben Dalton O’Sullivan (Ind), Audrey Buckley (FF) and Seámus McGrath (FF). All Councillors agreed that this was a well thought out motion and commended Cllr. O’Connor for his research on the topic. They also referred to the need for Carrigaline’s water features to be opened up in order to improve public amenities as well as attracting tourists to the area. Cllr. McGrath noted that the local area plan contained wishes for projects such as this to become a reality, not just in Carrigaline but the wider Harbour Area. However, Cllr. McGrath did say that he had concerns about the physical impact that it would have on parking in the nearby area.
Responding to the motion was Cork County Council Executive Engineer Nicola Radley. She said that if was a fantastic idea and suggested that there was an opportunity there and that while they had an opportunity to discuss the motion prior to the council meeting, that they would require a bit more “homework” to be done on their side before taking it any further. Ms. Radley went onto say that while she did not dispute the quote of just over €6,000 for the erection of the pontoon arrived out by Cllr. O’Connor, she did say that additional capital would be required for a process of maintenance.
