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THE TEAM HOPING to restore and relaunch heritage vessel the Naomh Éanna meet with Arts & Heritage Minister Jimmy Deenihan today to put their proposals forward.
Businessman Sam Field Corbett, whose company also restored Dublin landmark the Cill Áirne, has been scrambling to put together a business plan since the Minister announced a temporary stay-of-execution for the ship last month.
She had been due to be scrapped by Waterways Ireland, after safety concerns were raised in a hull inspection.
Once used to carry passengers and supplies between Galway and the Aran Islands, the Dublin-built ferry had been berthed in the city’s Grand Canal Dock since 1989.
Various businesses operated out of it, but following a hull survey Waterways Ireland — which manages the dock — announced the vessel was no longer safe and would have to be destroyed.
The Naomh Éanna Trust — a campaign group established in 2005 aimed at saving the vessel — had wanted a longer reprieve period so a proper business plan for the revamp could be arranged.
However, the Trust — in co-operation with Field Corbett’s company the Irish Ship & Barge Fabrication Company — now contend they’re ready to move ahead to the next stage of the proposed restoration process, having put together a ‘comprehensive’ plan.
The proposed €1.86 million revamp would include…
However, Field Corbett contends a proper inspection of the ship needs to be carried out before the plan can move to the next phase.
[Image: Naomh Éanna Trust]
[Image: Naomh Éanna Trust]
[Irish Ship & Barge Fabrication Company]
“None of the investors would be willing to put their hands in their pocket unless the ship is properly surveyed,” Field Corbett said, noting that he would be putting that very point to the Minister at today’s meeting.
He said that €1.86 million was the maximum budget his team had been able to secure, and warned that if the vessel turned out to be in a worse state than expected, the proposals would have to be abandoned.
Field Corbett said he had contacted experts from Harland and Wolff, and that whey were ready to carry out a full inspection of the ship should Waterways Ireland and the Minister give their go ahead.
“Engineers are confident the antique machinery in the ship can be returned to service and the ship will return to Galway under her own steam,” Field Corbett said.
The vessel was moved to the NAMA-controlled ‘Graving Docks’ by Waterways Ireland last month. However, Field Corbett contends a specialist would need to be commissioned to dry-dock the ship properly in-situ before any further assessment could take place.
“These actions would have to be taken as part of the scrapping method, and would not put additional costs on the state,” the businessman said.
If all goes to plan, the restored ship could be fully operational in Galway by December at the earliest, but “realistically, this time next year”.
It’s planned 45 people would be employed aboard the new business. Galway Port Company have already offered a berth for the heritage vessel.
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Stop letting them in until we have proper facilities to look after them…
.There’s an idea. And stop trying to force them onto rural communities
@Alan Dignam: well that’s not happening so how about we fix the system and facilities we have ASAP and save money in the process
@Alan Dignam: The Irish already are. Priorities!!!
@Alan Dignam: rural communities seem to complain that rural villages are dying, have no services, are being depopulatef etc then some rural communities complain about the prospect of small numbers of asylum seekers arriving. You can only draw certain conclusions about their opposition
@DaveevaD: Sorry Dave can’t agree with you on that one. We have seen recently how the government tried to move anything 50 and 100 asylum seekers into communities of less than 1000 people. That’s like moving 100,000 into Dublin over night.
@Alan Dignam: and deport them if they commit crime…
@Alan Dignam: Least thing in life asylum seekers want to do is to live in some village in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do and nowhere to go etc. Because of protestors and arsonists asylum seekers live happy life in luxury hotels in Dublin without getting horrible depression in villages. So much more of them will arrive. As DCC head said – “good services create a good demand”. At last anti immigration protestors did something really good for immigrants!
@Alan Dignam: any time Dublin has a big event we cope. For example: Dublin don’t generally get to hurling finals. So the night of a hurling final 82,300 people come to Dublin. Few go home but a lot stay the night. Add in the fact that it’s the summer tourist bubble and we still handle it well. 100k piece of p***. These poor folks are staying in otherwise empty hotels. Tell me why your rural community can’t handle them again? Ah yes, it’s the fact that they have more melanin in their skin.
@Darren Bates: I come from Tipperary and know of many people who went to the all Ireland final and only know of 1 that stayed in dublin
@Darren Bates: Do the All Ireland attendees need jobs, a permanent address, healthcare, school places for their children when they arrive in Dublin? On top of that they also bring cash. You don’t have to contribute to the match goers upkeep? You are dealing with two totally different and incomparable situations here.
@Alan Dignam: yet we all understand that the directly proportional comparison makes no practical sense whatsoever.
We had rural communities that accommodatele 1000s of tourists each summer saying they can’t handle a small number of asylum seekers.
@DaveevaD: also when they were asked if 50 people from Cork or Dublin moved into the area would they be welcomed they went silent
@Darren Bates: I always try to be positive and as compassionate as I can but are you on drugs or away with the fairies. One has absolutely nothing to do with the other.
@Alan Dignam: what about our own homeless people they should come first
@DaveevaD: can you ? How ? Said asylum seekers are completely dependent on State assistance . (i have no issue with that, it’s the law )
They can’t legally work for at least 8 months (asylum seekers) and when they do get the right to work, they will be back up to Dublin and the bigger towns to get that work. Only so many chip shop – chef jobs to go around in rural Ireland .
If you bothered to talk to workers at these direct provisions or the asylum seekers themselves ,in Mayo (Ballyhanuis) or Lisdoonvarna, you will hear them tell you that much like some of the local lay a outs, all they can do is walk around the village with NOTHING to do . No taxi or buses to take them to the nearest town which maybe 10-20 km away (nothing stopping them from getting on a bike of course )
You haven’t a bloody clue ,yet you and many others feel qualified to comment . Sit down and shut up and leave this to people who actually know what they are talking about . You can already spot of spoofer who expresses or implies the usual rubbish about racism etc
@Darren Bates: What job prospects do they have in rural areas, where the young Irish have moved seeking jobs?
@Darren Bates: lad, stop, you are embarrassing yourself .
A city designed, albeit badly, that provides numerous modes of transport ie rail, bus,taxi, Luas, numberous hotels and restaurants for people visiting FOR ONE DAY
versus
villages and towns whose best feature is the regional road going out of it and just about copes when an inter county championship match is held there or the nearer provincial town. Not to mention these guests are going to stay for more than one day
The ability of Direct provisions centres in Dublin (some of whom are closed down eg Hatch Hall ) and nearby towns is at breaking point, hence the government throwing them out to the middle of know where .Difference is, there are no facilities for jobs or health care ,transport access to doctors n lawyers etc in the latter
Education was completely wasted on you, son
@DaveevaD: Or maybe sending “refugees” to rural areas is not the solution to the problem . Bury your head in the sand and you will see the rise of the far right like the uk,Germany,Spain ,Italy …….
@Darren Bates: Did you actually just compare a bunch of irish hurling fans travelling to dublin for an afternoon to a bunch of refugees from an entirely different culture coming to dublin permanently? If so you might as well compare apples to pubic hair, because those things. are the exact same.
@Alan Dignam: and of the accommodation was available why would this be a problem?
@DaveevaD: there is no point in moving asylum seekers into areas that do not have the essential services needed to cope with an influx of people ,many of whom can not even speak english (let alone irish) – most of these villages have no medical centre , no schools or very few spaces , no job prospects (thats WHY people left in the first place ! ) little or no suitable housing ,no social services , public transport or other state infrastructure, these villages can only just cope with those that are living there at present -sending in 100 + people who come from a different country ,a different language ,in many cases a different religion , a different way of life . piling these people into a disused hotel or some other form of ‘centre’ is not going to help them assimilate to life here in any way what so ever – some of these people are from secular communities and do not want to ‘mix’ with others from outside their chosen way of life – others may not be able to cope with such a change . ireland has done more than its share taking in refugees and asylum seekers – we simply do not have the infrastructure in place to take any more – our processing system is (and always has been) a mess and the number of appeals allowed to those that fail -and the time it takes to actually carry out the deportations of those that fail are causing bigger problems . until we have a proper system in place we should call a halt to accepting any more …
@Niall Bourke: well said. Darren Bates completely different situations…please keep up to speed on the issues.
@Darren Bates: when we have sorted out the home grown homeless perhaps we can sort out the immigrants….
@Darren Bates: I was in Dublin yesterday and thousands of apartments being built all over the place. The government can close down the DPC’s and house all our homeless in them problem solved!! Little communities in rural ireland do not have the infrastructure/facilities to take care of asylum seekers. Many of these people are suffering from PTSD and other issues and rural villages would not have the health services these people will desperately need. And if you think for one minute our government is going to bring in these services thing again and I wouldn’t trust our government no matter if they told me there were euro falling from the sky.
@GMCManning: why not sort our own homeless out first ?
@DaveevaD: I suspect you don’t live in a small rural community then?
@DaveevaD: because tourists are not a drain on local services unlike asylum seekers, no money, big cultural differences, language problems, no jobs……
@Eric Davies: FG, ghetto makers
@Gus Sheridan: cos it’s not an either or zero sum situation.
@DaveevaD: daveeda think whatever you like
Sounds like they’ll be better off than our own if that’s the case
@STOIC SAVAGE: no it doesn’t but do you think we should deliberately leave them worse off?
@GMCManning: yes it does… Get your facts right please
@STOIC SAVAGE: care to prove your “facts” and answer the question?
@GMCManning: unfortunately your tiny mind couldn’t comprehend the hardships of IRISH homeless families
@GMCManning: another teacher working zombie partied on the 24 7 365 defensive 4 fffg, how many shills on here have grandchildren?
@GMCManning: where they’re suggesting building perhaps better facilities for refugees to live in, which is fine by me. But unless the Gov takes its finger out of it’s arse and starts providing social housing for all that require it then we have a problem. FG are a scourge on this society. Posh boys like Murphy and Coveney are completely out of touch.They seem to want to do nothing for people who cannot get a mortgage but have to pay in excess of 2k a month rent in Dublin. Our society needs to be better than this and there is no reason why there shouldnt be adequate accomodation for everyone in all walks of life.
@Da Vid: All very true but the cycle will continue as FG and/or FF will still be in charge in some way or form after the next election. Nothing will change in Ireland while either party is in power. It is as simple as that.
@STOIC SAVAGE: so that’s a no to both then darling? K so
@Dave Stewart: Jebus, wanna try that again there Davey? Seems like you were the one partying a bit too much. Hope ya had fun though.
@Da Vid: agreed. Other than the Coveney bit, think he’d be an improvement (not that that’s a high bar) on Murphy or Leo.
@STOIC SAVAGE: none of “your own” will agree to move out of Dublin even if offered a council house not talking about living in horrible direct provision hostels in the middle of nowhere.
@STOIC SAVAGE: IRISH homeless families who refuse housing offers in Dublin city center and even Clontarf?!
@STOIC SAVAGE: You are suggesting , laughably, that some of these so called Irish homeless ,don’t have family members to help out in some little way , that they have no back up from friends or family , no right to work … For genuine asylum seekers, they really have none of those things upon arrival
@Da Vid: Or remortgage to pay school fees because they can’t find a place for their children in our “free” education system in Dublin.
@David Corrigan: well start a new fashion vote for someone else, and dont come back with ” thereis no one else” there’s always someone else….
@Peter donnelly: I never voted for FF or FG in my life. I gave up on this kip a long time ago.
@Kate Fogarty: middle of nowhere how dare you
If we were firmer and more efficient in dealing with economic migrants who falsely try and claim asylum and then repeatedly appeal their case, the problem would not be near as bad
@Greg Daniel: bang on. One quickly processed appeal and in you come or out you go.
Do you mean illegal immigrants as well or just real asylum seekers
@Thomas Sheridan: both just one group should be processed and deported
Please people , with our homeless situation deteriorating so bad , we need to tell Brussels , No more…
But best in EU boot lickers , FFG will hear no more…
@Willy Mc Bride: We need to tell Brussels we won’t adhere to the fiscal rules.Housing for all is a priority .Yet the Government get the green light from Brussels for broadband and Denis O Brien again will again quids up.
Another article to butter us up.
No one should be in DP longer than 18 months. Invest in processing claims as quickly and accurately as possible then deport people here illegally (1 appeal) and let legal asylum seekers get on with their lives here and integrating into Irish society. Can’t see how it wouldn’t be better for all concerned rather than an extensive, quite possibly, damaging and definitely expensive time spent in limbo.
@GMCManning: i agree. But you only have to look at whos making money from the state contracts. Longer people are in limbo, the longer they stay there, the longer these guys make money.
@GMCManning: We have enough already – don’t entertain them full stop!
@GMCManning: I agree, the majority of claims are processed in under 18 months but then they take judicial reviews to the high court where there is a 5 year wait so are stuck in the system. This obviously adds extra accomodation costs not to mention legal costs to the system and also ensures that there is a constant growing demand for direct provision places.
@The next small thing: Judicial Review numbers are way down ,despite the fact that the 2015 act is recent .
How many are in the direct provisions have have got proceeded and failed , have deportation orders AND still have not been moved by the police ? Quiet a few! The Department have got big into asking the illegal / failed person to leave voluntarily (as if they will
@Mary’s Abbey: no
Oh it would be terrible if refugees had to live in tents like irish people
@Karl Charlie: you’d count on one hand the amount of Irish people that you know that are in tents
@Christy Dolan: Is cloud cuckoo land nice at this time of year?
@Christy Dolan:you dont have to ‘know’ them to know they exist ! just look at any news item , go onto google and search ‘dublin homeless’ and see the number of tents and makeshift shelters in the phoenix park , along the canal banks ,under subways and in wooded areas , see the number of people sleeping in doorways or down ally ways – read up on reports from people and organisations that help to feed and keep the homeless warm with blankets ,dry clothing etc , you wont find much mention of any of it in the mainstream irish media – because they only report what the government and uncle denis want to report !!
@Christy Dolan: Have you been hibernating over the last number of years. Can’t believe you posted that stupid comment!
@Mary’s Abbey: Is it ? Wouldn’t know sweetie . How many of your pals are in tents? And, if they are in tents , what are you doing about that to help ?
@Eric Davies: Eh, you would need to know that an allegation that you make or support actually exists ! Otherwise your argument lacks credibility.
Subways ? In Dublin ? Lol. This ain’t NYC .
How certain are you that most of these people that you claim to care about are Irish ? There has been a massive presence of them along Henry Street and OfConnell St for years . NGOs give out free food and cloths every night around the GPO . Not many Irish, and those Irish that are there ,well, they are the sort that don’t want to help themselves and never have ie junkies and drunks
You show evidence of Irish people, with some sort of decent family structure that are in tents due to poverty . Chop chop
@Karl Charlie: AGREE.
Look at who benefits from the situation as it is and that’s where the solution lies.
in my opinion The blame lies with the legal vultures who drag out the process at enormous cost to the state, if a person is appealing a decision then where do you want to put them up?
@John Walsh: With you there we need to curb the shysters in the legal trade they are the problem.
@John Walsh: You suggesting that asylum seekers should not have the right to an appeal ? That is clearly what you are saying,if one is to assume that you actually know what you are talking about .
They only have one appeal. It can take anything between 12-18 months to get to that stage . The quality of decision making has greatly improved and with the case law being far more settled compared to 10 years ago (when asylum law in Ireland was new and uncertain ) there are far less Judicial Review actions .
For the amount of time , costs and energy into any High Court case, don’t think solicitors are going to waste time bringing crap cases to JR ,especially when the legal costs for winning are nothing like they use to be . The applicant themselves certainly ain’t paying
The government have failed this country again it’s a travesty families are forced to live in tents on the streets or hotels/hostels for that matter every county in ireland is effected by it built social housing for the vulnerable people of Ireland and put a limit on what asylum seekers we can take in no point in taking them in if we can properly look after them haven’t they been through enough already
I’ll worry about it AFTER the 10,000 homeless Irish people get a roof over their heads.
@Eamon McGowan: so take at least one to live with you and provide with the roof.
@Kate Fogarty: take a homeless person off the street to live with you and see your taxes used to pay for asylum seekers/uneduated economic migrants? How about look after the homeless CRISIS in the country and once thats under control then open the country up to asylum seekers. Until we can look after our own no asylum seekers should be allowed in.
@Eamon McGowan: agree , but i presume you would like to apply a sensible process to assess how many if any are part of the 10 000 homeless that are not being opportunistic and playing the system – because if you think they are all legitimate homeless cases – you are very misguided
@Eamon McGowan: yea me too
What about our own homeless people they should come first
@Linda McCormackToner: don’t forget to hand them a fiver every time they start begging “for the bus home “ or “hostel “ ,next time you bump into them
@Linda McCormackToner: Homeless people don’t want to move from cities to rural areas, stupid comment.
Better then sleeping on the streets or in doorways ??..
Shock horror they can join our own citizens by the Canals and in the Parks of our country. Irish people are being let down. We are a busted flush borrowing money to send abroad in foreign aid and importing people we cannot afford to look after.
@Gerard Farrell: absolute disgrace, no foreign aid should be given out unless we have a surplus with which to do it. The government haven’t a clue about real life for most people as they will never have to scrape a living together or worry about whether they will be able to keep a roof over their heads if another recession comes and their business suffers. Keep taxing middle Ireland and wasting money on charity projects for other countries, sure aren’t we a great nation.
Send them back problem solved.
While I feel sorry for asylum seekers the government should look after our own homeless first
@Margaret Kane: we can afford to do both but successive governments have abdicated their responsibility for housing.
@EillieEs: how do you make out we can afford to do both? We are still borrowing money to run the country hence anything extra we decide to do will be done on borrowed money too. You do realise money doesn’t grow on trees and that the money borrowed has to be paid back by us the tax payer?
How about you house our homeless citizens first.
Look after the Irish first
A more streamlined asylum process is needed, it is ridiculous the amount of time people are in the asylum system all the while costing the tax payer money. Quick decisions and no costly legal appeals will sort it out.
@Keith Mac Suibhne: the system was already “streamlined” in 2015
The system needs a complete overhaul, with fairer and faster processing. Allow asylum seekers to work during that time. If their application is rejected, allowed one appeal. Have strict time limits to avoid dragging out this process for everyone.
@Sean Ryan: 1. The system was over hauled in 2015 . Nothing wrong with it. Just need more qualified staff to deal with work loads (some of which come from the previous system post 2015)
2. Asylum seekers right to work, immediately upon arrival, as oppose to the current position of having to wait 8 months, is crazy. It simply further encourages economic migrants pretending to be asylum seekers
@Christy Dolan: and In the meantime allow them to make susacide jackets
build a wal
@The bad luteniant: is that only half a wall. That won’t keep them out. He. He
We shouldn’t be allowing asylum seekers into Ireland if we have nowhere to put them.
@J. Reid: you do understand the difference between a migrant and an asylum seeker. Not letting in people who are seeking asylum could be a death sentence for a lot of them and as for migrant people. Our country would come to a stand still without them
@David Saunders: plenty of other countries they can go to, what about uganda, kenya, south Africa? Oh wait they wouldn’t provide the same living standards as Ireland
Let’s focus on housing our own irish people before anybody else that’s only a wet day in the country.never heard of a county so backwards it’s a disgrace
Most if not all are economic migrants and not asylum seekers. The only asylum seekers we should have are the ones that are officially brought into the country by our government. Dublin Agreement.
There is a very large building in the middle of Donnybrook village directly opposite the Garda Station. This building destroyed the village and to make matter worst has remained empty for several years. It could I’m sure without much imagination be converted into accommodation for homeless, asylum seekers or even affordable housing. Yet it continues to lie there. Could it possibly be because it is in D4?
Better than living on the streets!
I’m sure the homeless would love to live in a “ sports hall”
That’s a good thing, send them back, better than the war Torn place that they came from ! Oh wait… economic migration, – never ! Who would of thought !
Given the option of being killed in your own country or living in a sports hall they are still better off coming here
We have 10’000 native homeless people Enda. How about we tackle that first and worry about some foreigners when our house is in order???
We need to accept our homeless don’t want to live in other parts of the country! They want to be close to their families/ friends/schools. So their is no comparison and it’s unfair to blame asylum seekers for homeless. The system for asylum is absolutely appalling. Takes too long and people are left for years without being able to work to support themselves or educate themselves! This is inhumane! Treating people like kept animals is a disgraceful thing to be doing. We also have to look at and oppose those who are making money from this system, the hotels/B&Bs/ and anyone who is providing any food services etc. THATS where the problem is! Making money from innocent people
Eh what about Irish people sleeping on the streets?? Cop the f@€k on
We already have Irish citizens and their families living in tents. Your point?
Asylum seekers or economic migrants and that is the question?
Nobody asked them to come here. I’m homeless. Nobody cares about the Irish people
I don’t know why some people mix homeless issue with this asylum thing. Homeless people have different problems and asylum seekers have different. Luckily I was homesless and asylum seeeker too in this country. UN pays for asylum seeker and nobody should have problem with this. Every now and then if there is article on asylum thingy , people start saying nonsense which let others to join and talk shite.
@Shehreyar: the UN pays the full cost of housing and living expenses/ services including schooling and medical for every asylum seeker/economic migrant that presents in Ireland? Who’s talking shite now?
All people living in rural ireland are in the middle of nowhere and have been for generations Thank You…
Who’s paying for all of this I wonder. Let me think now. This is difficult. Oh yes the tax payet
Should be looking first after there own
have your say