Dublin People - Residents question next port of call

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Residents question next port of call

Thursday, 22 May 2008

According to the report - carried out for Dublin City Council - the vast majority of reside.
A massive 75 per cent of public submissions to a report into plans to expand Dublin Port were in favour of having the facility moved to a new location.
nts said they would prefer to see the port removed and its land redeveloped.
Clontarf councillor Gerry Breen (FG), chairman of Dublin Bay Watch, has welcomed the findings from the survey, which was conducted by CDM Consultants on behalf of the city council.
“The public’s preference is based on this option offering the highest return to Dublin in terms of jobs, housing, growth, amenities and low environmental impact,” Cllr Breen stated.
He said such a plan would allow for a new state of the art port with no capacity restraints.
“It would also counteract some of the negative impacts of the urban sprawl with the location of thousands of housing units near the centre of the city and would not involve further infilling of Dublin Bay,” he added.
However, in a dramatic move last week, the Dublin Port Company said it would be willing to transfer full ownership of its portion of Bull Island to the city council, if planning permission is granted for the expansion of Dublin Port.
The port company has also offered the council more than e1 million for the protection of the island.
The company is seeking to fill in 21 hectares of Dublin Bay to expand port facilities and intends to make a planning application shortly.
The company has written to councillors, local residents and community groups to outline the plans to transfer the lands and has asked interested parties to submit their views on the proposals by May 21.
However, there is still strong opposition to the expansion plans. At a recent Dublin City Council meeting, councillors voted in support of an emergency motion from Clontarf councillor Bronwyn Maher (GP) calling on Dublin Port Company to withdraw their application to An Bord Pleanála to infill Dublin Bay.
Cllr Maher has also warmly welcomed the recent announcement by Environment Minister John Gormley that he is to make an order extending Dublin Bay's Special Protection Area.
Cllr Maher said the minister’s action was significant in that it would put a question mark over the Dublin Port Company’s ability to infill land at the bay.
Cllr Maher said Minister Gormley's speedy response to the EU Court of Justice ruling sent out a positive message that he is putting the protection of the bay high on his agenda.
"Furthermore the minister's commitment to establish a Dublin Bay Task Force to plan for the future of the bay provides a great opportunity for the Government to protect Dublin Bay's environment and important wildlife,” Cllr Maher added.
“The Green Party has been totally opposed to the infill since 1999, the date of the last application by Dublin Port Company to enlarge the port area.”
Meanwhile, Cllr Maher has dismissed the Dublin Port Company’s land concession as a “last ditch” attempt to sway public opinion on its expansion plans.
“This latest Dublin Port Company offer is in contrast to a Dublin City Council study which shows that the capital would have a much greater financial gain if the port were to move altogether,” Cllr Maher stated.

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