A north-west councillor has described how on a recent journey by boat from Coney Island to Sligo Harbour one evening recently it became apparent that the majority of lights in the harbour aren't working.

As The Sligo Champion reports, Councillor Declan Bree, who is believed to have been on a family holiday on the island brought up the issue of the missing lights at Monday's meeting of the Borough District of Sligo. Cllr Bree said he had "significant concerns" regarding the maintenance of the navigational aids in the harbour.

Referencing the recent trip from Coney Island into the quays, Cllr Bree told the meeting it became very clear that many of the lights and navigational aids were not working.

"The light on the lighthouse on Oyster Island was not functioning, and the majority of the lights on the poles and buoys marking the channel were not functioning properly." He said it was his understanding that this Council was responsible for maintaining the navigational aids and lights so as to ensure safe navigation in the harbour.

Cllr Bree said from speaking to boat owners who use the port, it was his understanding that this was 'the norm'.

He asked that the meeting be provided with a report regarding the maintenance of navigational aids (Local Aids to Navigation) in Sligo Harbour and that the report include procedures for responding to outages/failures; record of failures and repair time; average performance over the last three years; and further to ask if the Council submits reports on such matters to the Commissioners of Irish Lights.

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