Mayo quay upgrade project misses out on €500,000 funding

Plans to upgrade the Roman Island/Westport Quay have suffered a setback after the project failed to secure funding in the latest allocation round, prompting calls for clearer feedback on the decision.

The unsuccessful bid was raised at a recent meeting of the Westport–Belmullet Municipal District, where Councillor Brendan Mulroy described the department’s decision as “really disappointing”, particularly given the recent improvements made in the area.

“An application went in there, it didn’t get through,” Cllr Mulroy said. “We’re just asking for the council and the department to come back and give us the reason so we can figure out where it went wrong.”

Councillors were informed that while the Westport Quay project was unsuccessful, a separate project in Belmullet did receive funding under a different scheme. However, Cllr Mulroy said no explanation has yet been provided for the rejection of the Westport application.

“They didn’t give any reason,” he said. “That’s why I was asking for a comprehensive report. At the moment we’re kind of shooting in the dark.”

He confirmed that a formal request for feedback was submitted at a council meeting last Monday, but he does not expect a response until the next meeting in approximately three weeks. He said the lack of information makes it difficult to assess where the application may have fallen short.

“When we get that report back, I’ll be in a better position to have a conversation about what was wrong,” he said. “We’re waiting to see for sure what it was that went wrong, and for that report to be comprehensive.”

READ MORE: Group claim funding for west Mayo greenway shows route is 'considered undeliverable'

Asked about his reaction to the funding decision, Cllr Mulroy said his priority was to understand the process used rather than comment prematurely.

“We’re looking at how funding decisions are made, trying to figure out what went wrong and what process was used,” he said. “In the absence of that, I’ll wait until the report comes back and comment on it then.”

Mayo County Council has indicated that while the Roman Island/Westport Quay project was unsuccessful in this round, other projects in the county did receive funding under different schemes. The council has also said it will review the outcome and consider alternative funding avenues to progress the project.

Director of Services Joanne Grehan explained that the Belmullet project qualified under a Gaeltacht-specific funding scheme, while no other projects in the municipal district met the criteria.

She also noted that four of Mayo County Council’s five applications were successful overall, securing €1.4 million in funding and making Mayo the second-highest recipient nationally, after Galway, while acknowledging the disappointment surrounding the Westport decision.

READ MORE: Mayo town pier redevelopment moves forward as Lough Conn plans unveiled