Sir, - Further to an interesting article entitled "High-density schemes are feared by residents" by Frank McDonald (The Irish Times, August 11th) I wish to make two observations. Firstly, when I was contacted by Frank McDonald I was not asked to comment on the new Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Draft County Development Plan on behalf of An Taisce. All my comments represent only my personal opinion.
The suggestion in the article that I "would not be opposed to such a scheme" of a marina "for at least 500 boats beside a completely remodelled Carlisle Pier" is incorrect. I said that I was opposed to the current proposal for a 500-berth marina in the middle of Dun Laoghaire Harbour in the vicinity of the Royal Irish Yacht Club as it would be accessed through the last public open space along the harbour-front between the RIYC and the Irish Lights Depot, which should be preserved in its entirety as a public open space accessible to all.
I said that, if there is to be a marina in Dun Laoghaire Harbour, it should be located in the area between the Carlisle Pier and the East Pier in front of the National Yacht Club, since this area has effectively been "lost" to the public due to developments there since 1965, and that such a marina should be modest in scale, for example 100 berths, as it would be difficult to service any marina development in Dun Laoghaire Harbour in terms of car parking, since it would be unacceptable to in-fill any of the water space within the Harbour for car parking.
The current proposal, made at the last cabinet meeting of the previous government, that any marina development in Dun Laoghaire Harbour should receive financial assistance of 50 per cent, up to £6 million, by use of European Union funds, should be reversed I believe, on the basis that public money should not be used to facilitate a marina which by its nature can only benefit a minority rather than the majority of the public. Again, I must stress that these comments represent only my personal opinion, since I was not making any comments on behalf of An Taisce. - Yours, etc.
John O`Sullivan,
Sandycove, Co Dublin.