Rose Conway-Walsh: Fund Nationwide Pier Maintenance
Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Taoiseach to commit to proper funding for pier maintenance after the drowning of Joachim McNulty. She urged a nationwide pier maintenance programme and a public awareness campaign to prevent further tragedies.
Immediate appeal
Rose Conway-Walsh delivered a direct appeal to the Taoiseach, extending sympathy to Joachim McNulty's family and noting that they have begun a campaign alongside Darren Ford. She raised urgent safety concerns about moss-covered piers, slipways and inadequate protections that pose preventable risks to the public.
Campaign and context
The address referenced the anniversary of a similar drowning in Donegal and noted existing family-led calls for action. Conway-Walsh asked whether the government will properly fund local authorities to carry out maintenance and launch a nationwide programme and public awareness campaign.
Funding and responsibility
Conway-Walsh acknowledged that there has been investment in piers in recent years, including through Brexit-related funding, but argued that what is needed now is consistent, annual funding to reach the many small piers and inlets around the country. She reminded ministers of local authorities' and some port authorities' obligations for safety.
Safety implications
The speaker framed pier maintenance as a public safety issue for an island nation, calling for a sustained, national approach to prevent further drowning tragedies and protect coastal communities.
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Go raibh maith agat. Taoiseach, the recent drowning of Josham McNulty, when his car, Josham McNulty from Belderig in County Mayo, when his vehicle slipped in off the pier, he got drowned, has really brought to the fore. It's a stark reminder for us of the urgent need to prioritise pier maintenance around the country. This was on the anniversary of the Donegal drowning, in similar fashion of a pier in Donegal. I want to extend my thoughts and my sympathy to Josham's family, but they are now starting a campaign for the maintenance and the proper improvement of piers along with Darren Ford, because dangerous moss-covered pathways and piers and inadequate protections pose real and preventable dangers to the public, and they need government support. So will you commit to funding local authorities properly to carry out this work, to launching a nationwide pier maintenance programme, and to introducing public awareness campaign on the risk of slipways and piers? Thank you. My sympathies go out to Joshua's family. It's quite a shocking event and very, very distressing and traumatic for the family. There has been extensive investment in piers over the last number of years, indeed during the Brexit fund, for example, quite significantly that bar funding was allocated to piers, and it's an area that I'm of a view that we should continue to invest in piers the length and breadth of the country. We are an island nation, and safety is paramount, and so local authorities have obligations as well in respect of this and some port authorities, but what's key is a consistent provision of funding on an annual basis to get to grips with the numerous inlets and piers and smaller piers around the country.
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