Displaying items by tag: Oireachtas committee

24th June 2019

Executives at Dublin Port to Appear Before Oireachtas Committee

Managers at Dublin Port accept invite to discuss credit card spending, Brexit and cruise-ship business which AFLOAT adds is predominantly located within Alexandra Basin as above.

Executives at Dublin Port Company have agreed to appear before an Oireachtas committee to answer questions about expenditure on company credit cards and hospitality at the State-owned company.

According to The Irish Times, on Friday the Oireachtas committee on transport, tourism and sport invited executives at the country’s busiest port to discuss a number of issues, including the recent revelations around expenditure.

It emerged just over a week ago that the port managers at the company spent more than €500,000 last year on flights, restaurants and entertainment on 22 credit cards. The expenditure included almost €95,000 on the credit card of the port company’s chief executive, Eamonn O’Reilly.

The board of the port company has asked accountants Mazars to carry out an external review of credit-card expenditure and hospitality to confirm that it is “both appropriate and properly authorised”.

Click this link for more on the controversy. Click this link to read the statement by Dublin Port on the matter.

Published in Dublin Port

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Forty Foot Swimming Spot on Dublin Bay

The 'Forty Foot' is a rocky outcrop located at the southern tip of Dublin Bay at Sandycove, County Dublin from which people have been swimming in the Irish Sea all year round for 300 years or more. It is popular because it is one of few spots between Dublin city and Greystones in County Wicklow that allows for swimming at all stages of the tide, subject to the sea state.

Forty Foot History

Traditionally, the bathing spot was exclusively a men's bathing spot and the gentlemen's swimming club was established to help conserve the area.

Owing to its relative isolation and gender-specific nature it became a popular spot for nudists, but in the 1970s, during the women's liberation movement, a group of female equal-rights activists plunged into the waters and now it is also open to everyone and it is in the control of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

Many people believe that swimming in extremely cold water is healthy and good for the immune system.

Is it safe to swim at the Forty Foot?

The Forty-Foot is a great place to swim because there is always enough water to get a dip but like all sea swimming, there are always hazards you need to be aware of. For example, a lot of people like to dive into to the pool at the Forty-foot but there are submerged rocks that can be hazardous especially at low water. The Council have erected signs to warn people of the underwater dangers. Other hazards include slippy granite cut stone steps that can often be covered with seaweed and of course marine wildlife including jellyfish that make their presence felt in the summer months as do an inquisitive nearby Sandycove seal colony.