HC Deb 20 February 1893 vol 8 cc1870-1
MR. DANE

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether, when the Skibbereen and Baltimore Railway was projected and approved, it was intended to extend on to a deep-water pier enabling fishing vessels to discharge their cargoes direct into railway waggons; is he aware that, as a matter of fact, as constructed, it ends at a point 150 yards distant from deep water; and, if so, upon whose recommendation, and under what circumstances; how much public money was granted pursuant to recommendation of a Royal Commission for the construction of this line and for the purpose of developing the valuable mackerel fishery; how much has actually been expended; and does the Government contemplate granting a further sufficient sum for the completion of the line to the deep water, and for the erection of a proper and sufficient pier; and, if so, when will the necessary work be commenced?

*SIR J. T. HIBBERT

The extension of the railway on to the pier was not included in the scheme submitted by the promoting company, or contemplated in the Statutory Report thereon by the Board of Works. The railway ends, as stated, in accordance with the original scheme of the promoters. The grant under the Act of 1889 was £56,700, and £46,411 of this has been expended up to date. No funds are available under the Act of 1889 for extending the railway, or under the Fishery Piers Acts for constructing a new pier; and the Treasury are not able to provide the funds necessary for either work.

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