Steps taken to fix bent ladders at Keelbeg Pier

A CONTRACTOR has been appointed to rectify damage caused to ladders at Keelbeg Pier in Union Hall.

It is understood that the ladders were damaged during the normal course of business at the pier, possibly by the manoeuvring of large fishing vessels.

Cork County Council said it regularly inspects and repairs all furniture on the pier on an ongoing basis.

Locals have said a contractor has been appointed to carry out the work but they are waiting for the contractor to arrive.

‘It is a top priority here in Union Hall for health and safety reasons,’ a person who is involved in the industry in Union Hall told The Southern Star.

Another local person complained that it is ‘nearly impossible to use the ladders in their current state because they are completely bent.’

Meanwhile Social Democrats  TD Holly Cairns and Cllr Ross O’Connell say West Cork must be made ‘a priority’ under a new €35m scheme to upgrade publicly owned piers and harbours.

‘There’s still uncertainty about the breakdown of the scheme,’ according to Cllr O’Connell, ‘but we are hoping to get clarity at our next meeting of the West Cork Municipal District.

‘We also want to know how groups representing certain piers can apply for funding under the EU Brexit adjustment reserve package, and how much will be allocated to West Cork,’ he said.

The purpose of the fund is to upgrade coastal infrastructure that has been damaged or is no longer considered to have structural integrity.

‘I have consistently called for greater investment in our small piers and harbours,’ said Holly Cairns.