#Howth - A new website has been set up outlining opposition by local traders and stakeholders to proposals to charge for parking in Howth Harbour.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Dublin North East TD Tommy Broughan slammed the proposals by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine as "crazy" and potentially devastating for Howth's marine and tourism businesses.

Some 500 parking space are available in Howth village, which Minister of State Jimmy Deenihan has argued are being predominantly used by park-and-ride commuters.

In response to a question from Deputy Broughan in late December, Marine Minister Simon Coveney added that "the volumes of traffic currently parking at the fishery harbour, both during the working week and at weekends, are creating significant health and safety risks, to the extent that on some occasions access for emergency service vehicles is compromised."

At a meeting called by the Howth Chamber of Commerce on Monday 28 January, Howth Yacht Club Commodore Breda Dillon rejected that assessment, claiming that overcrowding was not an issue, and that on normal days there was only 10% occupancy of parking spaces on the middle pier.

Her sentiments were echoed by the majority in attendance, with area TDs and representatives of local business all referencing the potentially damaging effects that parking charges would have on the village economy. Click HERE for more on the story.

#ISLAND NEWS - Cill Rónáin Harbour in the Aran Islands has been voted by the public as Best Engineering Project of the Year for 2012.

Silicon Republic reports on the announcement, made at the third Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards last Friday.

The harbour on Inis Mór is twice the size of Croke Park and was constructed from more than 77,000 of stone blocks from Connemara, a choice aimed at protecting the breakwater from erosion by the sea.

Its modern design is also the result of scale model testing by a UK-based hydro lab, while during construction the process was overseen by a marine mammal observer to ensure the disturbance to local marine wildlife was minimal.

The harbour was shortlisted along with other waterfront projects such as the Clonmel Food Relief Scheme, the Giant's Causeway Visitor Centre, the Michael O'Shaughnessy Bridge over the Eglinton Canal in Galway City, the north Co Dublin Waste Water Treatment Scheme and Titanic Belfast.

Silicon Republic has much more on the story HERE.

#GLANDORE HARBOUR - After 27 years, Glandore Harbour Yacht Club has finally acquired a clubhouse in the picturesque West Cork harbour village.

"It may have taken a long time but the reward is that we have ended up with a perfect location for our clubhouse," says Commodore Diarmuid O’Donovan in a message on the club website.

The new facility has been funded by a combination of fundraising from past events and a mortgage of €140,000. More fundraising is required to may off the mortgage while the club begins work on the premises to bring them up to fire and disability certification.

"We are a small but thriving club and I am sure this will show as we continue to fundraise for the better of the club," says O'Donovan.

"We have come a long way over the past few years. Membership has grown significantly. We also need to update our sail training fleet and equipment to facilitate the expansion of the club. Junior sailing is the lifeline and future of our club.

"It is wonderful to see the enthusiasm of all involved and I am sure the clubhouse will be a welcome asset for all sailors alike."

Commodore O'Donovan also thanks the club's members and supporters, as well as past and present committee members, for the time and effort they have given to date.

#IRISH HARBOURS - "Draconian" new charges for harbour users could bring an end to boat trips to see Dingle's most famous resident, according to The Irish Times.

Fungie the dolphin has been a mainstay of Dingle harbour for almost 30 years, but boat trips to visit him could cease to operate "with immediate effect" if charges of up to €9,000 are imposed "in advance" of the season.

Currently operators in the Dingle Boatmen's Association pay around €2,500 to use the harbour at the end of each season.

Association chairman Jimmy Flannery called on anyone working in tourism in Ireland to make submissions to the public consultation before the deadline next Friday 20 April.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, yacht owners are also up in arms over the new charges proposed by Marine Minister Simon Coveney that could see their rates hiked by an incredible 800 per cent.

And the news comes not long after fellow Kerry harbour users protested proposed new bylaws to regulate their activities and impose new charges.

#IRISH HARBOURS - Protesters took to the water off Kerry's piers last month in an organised swim drawing attention to proposed harbour bylaws designed to regulate the activities of water users.

“We need to make the public aware they have to make submissions,” Denise Collins told The Irish Times from Kells, which hosted one of the largest swims. “Traditional activities such as swimming will be over-regulated, we fear.”

The proposed bylaws would give Kerry County Council greater control over 16 of the county's 57 harbours and piers, including Kells, Kenmare, Portmagee, Brandon and Ventry.

Under the new bylaws, strict regulations would be placed on the use of loudhailers, landing and unloading passengers and freight, waste and even movement around the harbour.

"Draconian" charges are also set to be imposed on fishermen and other harbour users, while campaingers also feel that a ban on swimming and diving could also be added to the list.

The proposed bylaws already suffered a set-back earlier this year when Kerry County Councillors decided to restart the consultation process to allow the fishing industry, tourism operators and other interests more time to make submissions.

According to the Irish Examiner, only two submissions had been received by the council as of its January monthly meeting, despite senior council officials working for months on the draft proposals.

Cllr Toiréasa Ferris commented that the proposed charges in particular "would have huge implications for fishermen, some of whom might currently be earning only between €40 and €50 for a 14-hour day."

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, charges may also soon be hiked on yachts berthing at Ireland's main fishing harbours, a list that includes Dingle in Co Kerry.

Irish Marine Federation chairman David O'Brien expressed concern at the potential for such charges to damage "the good tourism dividend for coastal towns", noting that for every euro spent on a harbour berth, €10 was normally spent in the locality.

#IRISH HARBOURS - Yachts berthing at Ireland's main fishing harbours could see their charges hiked by an incredible 800 per cent.

According to The Irish Times, Marine Minister Simon Coveney has announced a mere 21 days for comment and consultation on the draft Fishery Harbour Centres (Rates and Charges) Order 2012. The consultation document is attached to the bottom of this post and available to download as a pdf.

The proposed new charges include an annual fee of €250 per metre for yachts, which could see a 10-metre yacht currently paying €312 a year for a berth shell out as much as €2,500 annually for the same space.

Additional water and electricity costs could even see this bill rise to €3,100 - for berths that come "without proper marina facilities in most cases".

The proposals apply to the State's six fishery centres at Killybegs, Rossaveal, Dingle, Castletownbere, Dunmore East and Howth, only two of which have pontoons suitable for leisure boats.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

This was the RV Keary's first INFOMAR survey leg of 2011 and it was also the first time that both vessels have worked in tandem. The mapping of the estuary was from an area just west of the city's Rice Bridge to the open sea at the mouth of Waterford Harbour.

The estuary was mapped before in 2007 using the Marine Institutes larger vessel the RV Celtic Voyager, which covered the harbour approaches from the 10m contour to greater depth offshore. Both RV Keary and RV Geo overlapped their coverage with this previous data, producing a comprehensive and seamless seabed map of the area.

RV Keary is constructed of marine grade aluminium and was custom built in 2008 for the (GSI) by Veecraft Marine of Capetown, South Africa.
The 15m craft with a draft of just 2m is equipped with an extensive range of highly sophisticated technology. She has an open working area at the aft-deck to conduct operations and is licensed to carry up to 12 personnel. For further vessel characteristics click HERE.

The 34-tonne craft made her 7,000 mile delivery voyage from the African continent to Europe. She was firstly transported on the deck of a cargoship to Rotterdam. After unloading at the Dutch port the 22-knot capable craft set off with several calls along the UK south coast to include loading bunkers before finally reaching Dun Laoghaire, from where she entered service in April 2009.