Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s decision to withdraw plans for a €30 million berth for cruise liners in Dun Laoghaire “represents a victory for those who want to resist any significant future commercial role for the harbour and for the town”, according to one reader of The Irish Times.
In his letter to the newspaper published last Thursday (30 May), Dónal Denham of Dalkey says the move is “without doubt, a death-knell for this community which is already in serious difficulty”.
And he describes opposition to the proposals — including by the waterfront yacht clubs — as a “Luddite approach”.
Denham cites as a case study Helsinki, which he says takes in a combined €60 million in cruise liner revenue from its two adjacent ports, as an indication that investment in Dun Laoghaire would be quickly recouped — and provide a boon to the locality.
DLRCoCo confirmed to Afloat last month that its cruise berth planning application was withdrawn on 14 May, based on a report which “advised of the significant commercial, technical and environmental risk associated with this project”.
Local residents recently made calls to the council to open up Dun Laoghaire Harbour to more medium-sized cruise ships, in the wake of Dublin Port reducing its number of cruise berthings going forward.
