A motion condemning the Dublin Port Company's proposal to fill in and reclaim 54 acres of the inner Dublin Bay was approved at the Dublin Corporation north central committee meeting on Monday evening.
The motion: "That this committee condemns the attempt by the Dublin Port Company to fill in another block (52 acres) of Dublin Bay and the absence of pre-application consultation on the issue", was proposed by Cllr Gerry Breen (FG) who stated that the manner of the Dublin Port Company's submission was "sneaky, undemocratic and covert".
The manner of the application has also been criticised by Mr Sean Dublin Bay Rockall Loftus as "surreptitious" in a letter to Mr Enda Connellan, chief executive of the Dublin Port Company. In the letter, Mr Loftus has also called on the company to withdraw its "re-application" saying, "there is no need to destroy what is left of the public's Dublin Bay amenities just because the port needs more space to expand". The motion follows the receipt of 430 submissions from the public to the Department of the Marine on the development.
Cllr Breen is critical of the time given to public consultation, saying that as a public representative he received notification only on October 20th and submissions had to be made to the Department of the Marine by November 1st.
Mr Connellan has said that a harbour works order was made following the statutory process under the Foreshore Act(s) and the Dublin Ports Company has followed this process.
He also says the company has "consulted with people far and wide" about the development, and the company "is responding to the demand in the growing economy".
A decision on the harbour works order is expected to be made by the Minister for the Marine, Dr Woods, around Christmas.