Donegal councillor Liam Blaney says it’s all systems go at Portsalon Pier where ongoing works are expected to be completed by April.
The Fianna Fail councillor was speaking after he hosted a public meeting in Portsalon on Tuesday night.
The meeting had been called to address local concerns over the delay in the pier project.
Early last year, the Donegal News reported that locals in Portsalon had expressed anger at the news that the popular pier was to close on July 1 to allow for planned repairs to the pier.
Donegal County Councillor, Liam Blaney, and Donegal County Council Marine Engineer, Cathal Sweeney, pictured at the public meeting in Stores Bar in Portsalon on Tuesday night.
While there was much concern over the timing of the work during the busy summer season, it had been intended that the work would be complete by the end of last October.
However, that deadline was missed and last week, Cllr. Blaney said the hope now is to have the work finished by Easter.
Speaking at the end of Tuesday night’s hour-long meeting Cllr Blaney said: “There seemed to be concerns in the area and different stories being told about what was happening on the ground that weren’t 100 per cent accurate.
“I felt we all needed clarity on the development and that’s why I asked the contractor, Joe McMenamin, and the Donegal County Council’s Marine Engineer, Cathal Sweeney, to attend the meeting, and I thank them sincerely for accepting the invitation.
“It was important to have both of them present so that answers could be provided to technical questions and concerns local business owners and residents had.”
“I would hope that people went away from tonight’s meeting a lot clearer and that everyone is singing off the same hymn sheet rather than different stories that had been going out. I was more than happy to facilitate tonight’s meeting, and I regarded it as extremely beneficial.”
He added: “Given the work plan that was mentioned tonight, it is hoped that the works at Portsalon Pier will be finished in April, which is excellent news for all concerned,” Cllr Blaney added.
“Unfortunately, there were holdups, but they have been overcome, and it’s all systems go at this stage. Quite a bit of work has already been done and given the progress that has been made over the last ten to twelve weeks, the month of April is the most likely month that will see the €1.5 million project completed.”
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