By Dan Walsh
Coastal matters were raised at last Tuesday’s monthly meeting of Gorey-Kilmuckridge Municipal District Council where members were keen to be fully prepared for the tourism season. A range of relevant topics were aired in the Chamber.
Cllr Mary Farrell had questions about the beach and dune restoration programme at Morriscastle. She said the boardwalk needs a clean up and raised concerns about fly-tipping. “People are randomly dumping. I was told of four mattresses dumped in one area this morning. The countryside is not given to dumping,” she claimed.
Cathaoirleach Cllr Pip Breen agreed with Cllr Farrell and recalled seeing twenty 6-inch blocks (40ks in weight) dumped where someone had knocked down a ditch. He felt it was time for ‘naming and shaming’ the culprits through the courts.
District Manager Philip Knight said CCTV had been installed and he recalled a situation where someone had torn the name and address from an envelope and thrown it away at a location between Gorey and Wexford.
Cllr Oliver Walsh said the replacement of Balyconnigar Bridge was badly needed. It had been washed away in the floods. Cllr Walsh said the damage at Ballyconnigar cut off the walkway to Raven Point on the south side and Kilmicheal on the northern end. “It is important to get the coastal path rectified as it is a great benefit, but people can’t get past Ballyconnigar at this time of the year.” He felt the Council might get working on a long-term solution.
Cllrs Joe Sullivan and Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin referred to the toilets at Ballymoney. Cllr Ó Súilleabháin requested the toilets be “open full-time” and noted that even in the off-season the location is quite busy.
Cllr Sullivan also asked that the Ballymoney beach parking situation be looked at and Cllr Anthony Donohoe agreed. He said North Wexford have great beaches but every summer there are parking problems on approach roads and a danger that emergency vehicles may not be able to get through if there were a serious incident.
Cllr Donohoe suggested that car parks be provided, like in Brittas Bay, “with an entry fee of a euro to park.” Cllr Donal Kenny agreed and added that “a couple of euro for parking charges could be got from visitors.”
Cllr Diarmuid Devereux alluded to the cost of car parks and the limited number of days in use and suggested that private landowners could be involved. Cllr Breen said that private lands had been used last year at Morriscastle and Cahore and the arrangement worked well. Cllr Joe Sullivan pointed out that the coastal area is heavily populated during the summer months.
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