Council must explain its u-turn on Schull

SIR – Over the recent editions of your newspaper, I have read two articles on the Schull harbour development issue.

In short, my query is: What’s going on?

As a resident of Schull, and a member of the business community for the past 40 years, I am deeply concerned at the flippant response of Cork County Council to this very important project that could mean so much to the commercial sustainability of the entire Mizen peninsula. Some 20 odd years of hard work has gone into the development of a ‘shovel-ready’ infrastructural development plan, which, to the best of my knowledge, had Cork County Council agreed to sit as one of the lead agencies for the proposal.

Full planning regulations have been adhered to, and, again, to the best of my knowledge, a considerable segment of cost funding has been guaranteed. All parties with an interest in the use of the harbour have come on board.

Projections of a commercial ripple effect into the peninsula, and indeed further afield, could, indeed, prove a major boost to the sustainability of the wider community of a peninsula that has lagged behind any kind of government infrastructural input for a long time now.

So, why the u-turn ?

Surely, as a public agency of the state, Cork County Council owes it to those who live on the Mizen to be openly transparent and, open up as to the real reasoning behind their complete turnaround?

Denis Quinlan,

Barry’s Road,

Schull.