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RESIDENTS OF DURSEY Island off the coast of West Cork were left stranded last weekend, after the cable car that links them to the mainland unexpectedly ceased running on Friday evening and didn’t start again until Monday morning.
Speaking to Patricia Messenger on C103′s Cork Today, a local resident named Martin detailed how the islanders are angry at the council for not ensuring that there was a service on a weekend so close to Christmas.
According to the cable car’s website, the Dursey island service is meant to run at least three times a day on both Saturday and Sunday during the winter and spring months.
The cable car is run by Cork County Council. According to CSO figures, there are less than 10 permanent residents on the island.
“The man that operates the cable car full time gave notice to Cork County Council that he was taking the weekend off,” Martin said.
The cable car finished at half five on Friday evening and didn’t start again until half nine on Monday morning.
Suspending the service was bad enough, but the lack of notification given to residents was a lot worse, according to Martin.
“Only a few of us were told, and it was on the Friday that it was shutting down,” he said.
While there is a full-time operator, there are also three relief cable-car operators. When Martin inquired as to why none of those were available, he was repeatedly told: “There’s nobody to operate it this weekend”.
“People could have needed to see a doctor, or get a prescription,” Martin said. “It’s lucky there wasn’t an emergency on the island over the weekend.”
A Cork County Council spokesperson told TheJournal.ie: “Last weekend the cable car operator took annual leave but unfortunately, given the time of year the primary relief operator or the secondary relief operator were unavailable to cover, hence the cable car was closed.”
Notices were put up on the cable car station informing the public that the cable car would be closed on Saturday and Sunday and e-mails were sent to elected representatives, accommodation providers, tourism bodies and those islanders with an e-mail address with the same message.
“Cork County Council attempted to get the message out to as many people as possible and apologises for any inconvenience caused.”
The spokesperson added that the service operated during the months of June, July, August and September.
I don’t really see why this furniture can’t be moved to their new premises about a mile down the road. Maybe it doesn’t match the new carpets.
@Niall O D: why didn’t they keep the old building as well if your going down that route
@Niall O D: Most of it looks old enough to not really be worth much anyhow, seems to be why they chose an antiques dealer.
@Donal Proctor:The new building has doors that left handed people can use,Money well spent I think.
Wonder if they reformatted the hard drives in those photocopiers. Could make for some interesting reading otherwise.
@Séa Graham: hmmmm… worth a punt or even a Euro! Secret compartments and all perhaps? Personally I’d be afraid I’d catch something off them.
@Normal Josephine: they’ve probably barely been used. The shredders on the other hand…
@Séa Graham: Reformatted? I’d say those things were microwaved and burned. I couldn’t see them just leaving evidence of the largest fraud in history just laying about the place.
@The Guru: it would be funny if it hadn’t cost us all so much!
@The Guru: no shredders are available for sale as all have been burnt out due to excess usagw
Any printing press and plates going? €50 notes preferably.
@Brian Ward: don’t be greedy. I’ll settle for 5 or 10s
@Brian Ward: A press for Printing get out of jail free cards as well lol.
The Microsoft Solitaire burn-in on the computer monitors should see them available at a steep discount at auction.
@alphanautica: Can you imagine using software to undelete what was on those hard drives lol.
I have no doubt considering he knew he was the only one tendering there was a maximum return for the state. State of balance for whoever awarded the tender knowing this country
Should give the money to charity
@Donal Proctor: sure you wouldn’t know where the money was going there either
@Alan Curran: sad but true
@Donal Proctor: Should put the money back into the state pension pot that was raided to prop the banks up…
@Jane Alford: perhaps was more thinking the homeless
Why didn’t they offer all this stuff to the European Central Bank as part payment-in-kind of interest on the Bailout?
@Garreth Byrne:
All was offered to the ECB!
However, since the gas regulators used in the barista bar at the old CB building are a different fitting to that allowed in Germany, the offer was declined.
It was obviously an all or nothing type of deal on those 5,000 items in question. You know yourself…
@Rory J Leonard: Then what about the stockpile of paperclips? Surely the Germans use an international size for them.
Must have been some interesting conversations at those water coolers
The Bank asked Niall Mullen to buy all the contents. Who else did they ask? Was it on etenders?
He agrees and its now going to auction.
You can be sure he bought the contents for a song.
Why didnt the Bank send it straight to auction themselves?
Doesn’t sound right to me.
Excessive amounts of brown manila envelopes are up too
Either the motors on the shredders are burned out or they’re keeping them.
Where can they be viewed?
@Peter McGlynn:
Sean Eacrett Auctions
Ballyshaneduff
Ballybrittas
Co. Laois
Ireland
R32D932
Ireland
For years I’ve overheard Dublin Walking Tour Guides describe the former Central Bank edifice as the most hideous building in Dublin City. One would wonder why it would merit “listed status”. Not the only example of tasteless 70′s design by Mr Stephenson who’s architectural style is officially classified as “Brutalist” in architectural circles or just plain “brutal” in Dublin colloquial speak.
I’d say there was some sneacta snorted from that boardroom table
The creation of double speak employment.
Should it not be free to take away since we own it all ready
Most of the stuff is rubbish
have your say