Another accident leads to renewed concern over North Mayo piers

A Ballina councillor has recounted a recent experience at Kilcummin Pier in North Mayo where he witnessed a vehicle sliding down the slipway and into the sea.  

Producing a video of the incident, Cllr Michael Loftus told the May meeting of Ballina Municipal District: “Our diving club was diving at the pier and a vehicle was literally going into the water with the state of the pier now. I was told the pier was cleaned on March 30th last, yet you can see on the video the amount of algae there. This was a boat and trailer that was just taken into the water with no grip on the slipway."

The accident happened just months after local fisherman Joachim McNulty drowned when his car slid off nearby Belderrig Pier and he was unable to get out of it. Cllr Loftus urged prompt action on the matter.

"As we are at the start of a very busy season with divers coming from all over to dive, and especially after the recent loss of life at Belderrig Pier, I am more conscious we need to be more proactive cleaning the slipways. Anyone walking down there can see the buildup of algae. I know it is not the council’s fault, it is just nature, but we have to address this. We need to put a contract in place to do something so that there is continuity and consistency of cleaning, especially in summer when slipways are used so much by swimmers and boaters, as you don’t want to see anything happen to anyone. In Donegal, they have a system in place where every six weeks they clean slipways and have a special material they use to do that.” 

The proposal was supported by the other councillors.

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.