Sir, - Next month, as part of the marina development, the Dun Laoghaire coal harbour and boat yard will be handed over from the public Harbour Company, to the private Marina Marketing and Management Ltd. Thus, an important, accessible public facility will become a private ring-fenced exclusion zone.
There has been a worrying absence of any information as to what exactly this handover means for the future of the boat yard. One of the few revealing gems comes from Michael Hanahoe, Chief Executive of Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company, who told The Irish Times (June 29th) that the boat yard would become a "boat storage facility". Tom Power of MMM is quoted as saying that "access would be restricted only for security reasons" (June 3rd). For users of the boat yard these are very worrying statements. If the practice of the other boat storage facilities in Dun Laoghaire is any thing to go by, we can now confidently expect the coal harbour to be circled by the standard security trappings of locked gates, railings and razor wire. For the many hundreds of boat owners and sailors in the city and county area who do not have moorings in the main harbour, the coal harbour is the only non-tidal slipway on the south side of Dublin Bay from which they have access to the sea. Their modest demand to go down to the sea in their boats looks likely to meet a sudden halt at the locked gates and railings.
The coal harbour is also a popular recreational facility for many people who just want to walk among boats or sit and ponder at that point where the land meets the sea. Indeed, for many of the children living on the west side of Dun Laoghaire, where car parking has obliterated all of the traditional street play space, the coal harbour has become the only safe play area in the neighbourhood. Their modest right to some childhood sport and fun should not end on the angry side of a coil of razor wire.
The proposed marina development is clearly a worthwhile development, but the reality is that use of it will only be accessible to a small number of boat owners - and at a cost. The coal harbour is a facility that is available to all of the public as of right. It should remain that way. - Yours, etc.,
John Caden, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.