Howth Yacht Club caters for all types of people. One might think a yacht club is the preserve of the wealthy middle class but the club goes well beyond that and has ambitious plans to become an inclusive club catering for those less able and less fortunate than regular club members. Recently, the EPA granted a licence to dredge the harbour, which is a welcome development and the first time it will have been done since the 1970s. It is a great development for the harbour as a whole. It will necessitate the yacht club replacing its marine infrastructure, which is a very expensive operation. It will cost a large sum and the club will look to the State for grant funding from the large scale infrastructure fund. Like all funding streams, one of the necessary proofs is having good title to the land that it occupies. The club has five leases from the Department of, Agriculture, Food and the Marine. To tidy up the title, the club hired a specialist solicitor to try to consolidate the leases to simplify the title in order to ease grant applications. The draft lease was sent to the Department in July 2024 and was forwarded to the Office of the Chief State Solicitor in August 2024. This work has still not been completed. We are two years on and the work needs to be finalised without further delay.

Sentiment score: 0.33

I certainly would not be raising this issue in this public way in the Chamber if the matter were progressing in the manner the Minister of State has described. We have been waiting two years for the resolution of a consolidated lease in circumstances where the club's specialist hired solicitor has, in effect, done the work for the State. He has drafted the lease for the Department. It should take only a matter of hours for a competent solicitor to read through it and either approve it or suggest amendments. I would not be raising this issue on behalf of the club, two years on, if what the Department is claiming was factual.

Sentiment score: 0.14