#SkelligMichael - Skellig Islands boatman Sean ‘Seanie’ Murphy has brought a High Court action over limits on the visitor season at Skellig Michael, as BreakingNews.ie reports.
Murphy claims the move by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport to move the opening of the season from the traditional 30 March to mid May, when the island is staffed, has reduced the summer landing period by a third.
He also argues that the Transport Minister is not entitled to determine the length of the landing season, noting that the decision — apparently taken on health and safety advice from the National Monument Service, which staffs the island — was made without consultation with boatmen who ply the route to the island off the Kerry coast.
Poor weather postponed the opening of the island to visitors till this past Thursday 18 May, as RTÉ News reports, after earlier concerns that unstable rocks on the island would cause further delays.
Previously, another boatman challenged the loss of his landing permits at the Unesco World Heritage site that’s set for a tourism boom with its connections to the new Star Wars film series.