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Displaying items by tag: Disappointment decision delay

#DisappointedPort - Disappointment has been expressed by the Port of Galway at the delay in issuing a decision on the multi-million euro harbour extension, stating that it is difficult to plan for the future under such uncertainty.

The Galway Independent writes it has been almost two and a half years since the planning application to extend the port was submitted and the wait for a decision looks set to continue until the end of the year at least.

The €126 million port extension is a four-phase development that involves reclaiming 27 hectares of bay area, providing a new marina and berths which will see the biggest cruise liners in the world being able to dock at the harbour in the heart of the city.

The long awaited decision rests with An Bord Pleanala, who stated this week that they will be holding meetings with the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the applicant. These meetings have yet to be arranged.

Eamon Bradshaw, Chief Executive of the Port of Galway said, “The delay in issuing a formal decision is disappointing and whether the decision is for or against the port it is difficult for a commercial enterprise to deal with the uncertainty of the outcome of a planning application which planning was applied for in January 2014 or almost 2.5 years ago.”

He added that it is hoped that a formal decision will issue, at the latest, before the end of this year. “Should that decision be positive it is expected that the building of phase 1 would commence before the end of 2017 and complete by 2020,” Mr Bradshaw added.

At the weekend, Galway welcomed two cruise liners, the Astoria and L’Austral and passengers were tendered ashore from the ships.

For more the click the newspaper's report here. 

Published in Galway Harbour

The Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) Information

The creation of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) began in a very low key way in the autumn of 2002 with an exploratory meeting between Denis Kiely, Jim Donegan and Fintan Cairns in the Granville Hotel in Waterford, and the first conference was held in February 2003 in Kilkenny.

While numbers of cruiser-racers were large, their specific locations were widespread, but there was simply no denying the numerical strength and majority power of the Cork-Dublin axis. To get what was then a very novel concept up and running, this strength of numbers had to be acknowledged, and the first National Championship in 2003 reflected this, as it was staged in Howth.

ICRA was run by a dedicated group of volunteers each of whom brought their special talents to the organisation. Jim Donegan, the elder statesman, was so much more interested in the wellbeing of the new organisation than in personal advancement that he insisted on Fintan Cairns being the first Commodore, while the distinguished Cork sailor was more than content to be Vice Commodore.

ICRA National Championships

Initially, the highlight of the ICRA season was the National Championship, which is essentially self-limiting, as it is restricted to boats which have or would be eligible for an IRC Rating. Boats not actually rated but eligible were catered for by ICRA’s ace number-cruncher Denis Kiely, who took Ireland’s long-established native rating system ECHO to new heights, thereby providing for extra entries which brought fleet numbers at most annual national championships to comfortably above the hundred mark, particularly at the height of the boom years. 

ICRA Boat of the Year (Winners 2004-2019)