#CruiseLiners – The Irish Times reports that the outgoing county manager of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council is to seek approval to spend more than €7 million on various projects among them the development of berthing facilities for super-cruisers in Dún Laoghaire Harbour.
Owen Keegan, who will take up his new post as Dublin city manager on Tuesday, will seek to cement his seven-year legacy in the county by ensuring funding for certain projects is secured before his departure on the preceeding Monday.
In a report to Dún Laoghaire councillors in advance of Monday's meeting, Mr Keegan said 12 cruisers had called at Dún Laoghaire this year, bringing 27,000 visitors, and Irish ports had attracted 220 cruise calls in 2012. But Dublin was missing out because neither the city's port nor Dún Laoghaire could accept ships of more than 300m in length.
The council had been assisting Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company in developing the port as a destination for cruise ships, he said, and the next stage would involve developing plans for a new cruise facility and applying directly to An Bord Pleanála for planning permission through the strategic infrastructure development process.
The cost of the plan is €650,000 and Mr Keegan is to seek approval for the council to contribute €250,000.
