MR. POWER (Waterford, E.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he will consider the claim of Bonmahon, county Waterford, to have a pier erected so as to enable the copper ore, to raise which two limited companies have been formed, to be transported direct by sea to South Wales, and so as to revive the fishing industry which was formerly of an important character.
(Answered by Mr. Bryce.) I am informed that when the mines at Bonmahon were worked in former days a pile jetty, the remains of which recently existed, was built by the mining company. The bay in which the jetty was situated is exposed, and, in the opinion of the Department of Agriculture, no harbour works that would give protection to fishing boats, except such as could be hauled up, could be erected without enormous cost. In the year 1902 the county council offered to contribute £1,000 towards the cost of a fishery pier, provided £2,000 were forthcoming from Government funds. The Department, however, were of opinion that no work which did not involve an expenditure of much more than £3,000 would provide accommodation for both the mining and fishing industries. Only three or four row boats fish out of Bonmahon.