I wish to raise an issue relating to Howth Harbour. Howth has been a harbour and fishing village since the Middle Ages. Boats are experiencing an issue with the harbour's depth. It has not been dredged since the 1970s. That is almost half a century ago. Boats, especially the larger boats, which have a clearance of 5 m or less have a much narrower window to get in and out of the harbour than they used to have because of the silting up of the harbour. Dredging is due to be carried out. There is a programme to build a public park on one side of the harbour and use the dredging materials to build up the soil levels to do that. Unfortunately, the planning permission has been granted, but we are waiting on a consent to issue from the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA. It has been with the agency for some time. This issue came to a head a number of weeks ago when a vessel was stuck in the harbour for a couple of hours at low tide. Dredging is required urgently. Howth has become a hot spot for tourism. The area is a contributor for both the economy of Dublin and the country overall. Each year tourists and people from across the country travel to Howth to celebrate Howth, Ireland's maritime heritage, our seafood and Howth Maritime and Seafood Festival. In the current global environment, it is essential that we have food security, and our fishermen contribute greatly to that reliable source of food. This is an important project. Dredging will greatly benefit all who use the harbour and assist in the continuance of the tradition of Howth as a fishing village. I ask the Minister of State to impress on his colleague Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, to impress upon the EPA to move this consent process along if possible.

Sentiment score: 0.15

I thank the Minister of State for the positive outline of the general scenario in regard to the fishing industry, which I of course welcome. I have spoken to the Minister of State directly on the EPA consent regarding Howth and he is aware of it and of the urgency of the issue. I wanted to raise it with the Minister of State on the record, that it is much wider than that. The leisure sector is affected by this as well. I know the Howth Yacht Club, for example, has a very significant investment in a new marina, which has been held up by the fact the dredging has been held up. The big concern I have is that the RNLI operates from Howth Harbour and God forbid that it would need to get out with one of its larger vessels and get struck at a low tide without having a window to get out for a rescue. I would be very concerned about that. The EPA consent needs to be moved along as swiftly as possible.

Sentiment score: 0.24