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IRELAND’S ANSWER to Alcatraz could become a major tourist trap and national park under a €40 million ‘master plan’ published by Cork County Council.
The council proposes to designate a 100-acre national park on Spike Island in Cork Harbour, with a complex of heritage and cultural attractions in Fort Mitchel in the centre of the island.
The island – a former monastery which became a prison in the 19th century – has been largely uninhabited since 2004, but has has begun attracting up to 200,000 tourists a year since the island was handed over to the council and publicly opened in 2010.
The council has now prepared a major plan with Scott Tallon Walker architects to “offer a variety of visitor experiences”, hoping to make the island a more popular year-round destination.
The three-phase plan would see the fort developed into a multimedia tourist attraction, a venue which could house concerts with up to 6,000 attendees, and a newly-built aquarium.
The development would see the island play host to re-enactments of military and penal scenes, and house a learning centre “dedicated to oceanography and the expansive marine resources of Ireland’s Continental Shelf”.
The council says the development of the island would promote the economic potential of the Cork Harbour area, and would see an increase in regular ferry traffic between Cork, the island and Haulbowline.
The plan is to be put to councillors at their monthly meeting next Monday night, when members will be asked to approve a multi-year investment plan for the works on the island.
The council has said it hopes to secure funding from Fáilte Island for the first phase of works, to focus on the island’s environment and history, which are earmarked to begin in 2013 if the plan is approved.
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More wishful thinking from our Bunch of Numpties Govt in the Regional Bundestag office in Dublin !!!!
This is RTE’s mistake but yet you still blame the Goverment… This site is a complete joke..
Dont believe a word Brussels is saying! Restructuring is imminent! There’s no other option!!
@declan cotter
Just as a matter of personal interest how do come to the conclusion that ‘this site is a complete joke’ based on an individual’s comment ?
Peter,
Its based on months of looking at the same old dribble on here… the completely unrepresentative opinions polls of referendum and the like…the personal abuse thrown at contributors and also at public figures… The sooner some form of governance comes in for sites like these the better..
Declan – Sorry you feel that way. If it’s of information to uou, we are regulated by the same libel laws as everyone else.
Given the volume of comments on a daily basis its difficult to cast a moderator’s eye over all submissions, but If there’s any comment which isn’t illegal but which you find to be in poor taste or off topic, feel free to click the ‘alert the author’ link beside the comment in question and we’ll take a closer look.
Point is Gavin, people on the forums insult and abuse Enda Kenny , Michael Noonan, Michael Martin etc. etc… Now I am afraid that other forms of media are not allowed to have content calling Mr Noonan a ‘B******x’… I have seen this on here on so many occasions…
Declan, cry me a river!
Declan
Enda Kenny , Michael Noonan, Michael Martin etc. etc deserve abuse. It’s because of people like them and the bankers that we are in this mess. No austerity for them overpaid useless twits.
Declan I don’t consider such comments libellous as they are true and if ever a case was brought against someone there’s 4 million character referees to confirm this!
Quote of the week Ted.
Declan, how come your whinging about members of fine gael being insulted round here, when you yourself have insulted politicians from another party on the very same forum??
” I am sick to the teeth of these SF idiots.”
@ Declan Cotter
If this site is a joke, why do you keep coming back to it and sometimes even further commenting on it?
…And who just judges a site over comments from the public and not from the actual content the staff put on it?
Ah good ole Deco, like Eddie Hobbs loves throwing his metaphorical weight around and calling people to account, just as long as no one questions him! Fair play for digging that out TTL!
You know what to do Cotter, go somewhere else if you don’t like what you read. All you want to prove is how you can moan.
@ declan cotter… I suggest either the uninstall button or remove it from your browser if you are that unhappy… Presuming you are an adult in full control of your faculties it is you who decides what you read or watch it is not for others to do it for you. As much as you may disagree with other people’s point if view there are as many who disagree with yours and the way you say them. While we still have a thin veneer of freedom of speech in this country you should either get on with it or stop looking. Easy isn’t it now you know?
No probs Diarmaid, it was handy enough to find. You can just, and I shit you not, typ the following into Google and its the TOP result….”Declan Cotter Double Standards”
Ha! The irony!
Declan are you any relation to Jamsie Cotter from Govan?
Gavin I rest my case… See comments… Pathetic…
Declan you’re being an absolute hypocrite and you have personally abused me on numerous occasions. I can only presume many of the above experienced the same wrath, so if you’re somehow trying to insinuate our lack of sympathy for your opinion / our highlighting of examples of your hypocrisy is anything untoward I’m afraid you’re way off again.
Did you ‘see comment’ exposing your hypocrisy as well declan?
There is no doubt Declan cottor with the fairys but stalking bit weird too.
Micheal Noonan is a traitor gov selling us out. FG/lab shameless traitors
Diarmaid..Not true!!!
That google stuff is kinda disturbing… weird bunch
Trueleft… the stalking is weird…
To be fair re the Google search Declan, the headline had the words “double standards” in it and your name posted in that article. Google would be searching contributors and headlines first for key words so it’s just a weird coincidence rather than anything untoward.
I think the most hilarious thing of all is declan calling somebody weird on the same thread he magically appeared on to give out about name calling.
The penny will drop eventually with him.
@ Declan. Do you think public figures should be shielded from comment? Kenny made many claims before the election which he has failed to follow through on. It’s only natural people who are angry especially at the well paid political class will react. Do you expect folk to tug their forelock as Kenny trundles by?
@Gavan
I have to say you do have a problem. The journal’s comment facility is effectively pointless – it’s an echo chamber for a dominant majority to congratulate and agree with each other, while flaming anyone who goes against that consensus. It’s like the worst of politics.ie on steroids.
mother feckers
Who? Rte or the EU?
The only groups I’d believe less than RTE are the Government and the EU. As sources confirmed the story to the BBC that gives it far more credence than if it just came from RTE. Does it really matter either way, it’s still paying off gambling bankers debts that the people were never asked whether they wanted to accept.
When i heard it on the news i thought some good news from the E.U for once. I hate the E.U
Radio Telefis Enda soundbites..the Irish media chance there arm and only for EU spokesmen denying that they never said or gave any indication of the sorts RTE would have the whole country believing otherwise an old tactic that is redundant in the world of information..how much for a license
RTE, the Irish Government’s very own propaganda machine gets it wrong again??
The Troika will not negotiate on these loans, because of the simple fact that they know they don’t have to bother negotiating on anything where FG and Labour is concerned (except maybe TD’s salaries).
”FG&Labour”
”Ireland’s Liquidators”
”Working hard on the behalf of corrupt faceless bankers”
Somewhere, someone is telling porkies
I don’t know why the media even bother anymore with asking anyone in the EU political sphere to confirm or deny something? In the past 4 years how many things have been flatly denied or how many things have been rubbished by politicians when the scenario posed in the question has been exactly what has been going on! I wouldn’t have even bothered Gavan, but perhaps thats why I am not a journalist, wouldn’t have the patience!
The picture could be a scene from Resevoir dogs. Bunch of fooking crooks.
Yep, Dave, it’s what we’ve been banging our heads at the computer screen for, and screaming at the telly! – we can deal with what we owe, but not this rubbish. Long live the internet – at least we can discover stuff and debate what the overpaid shysters spin over ! ! !
Well if Olli Rehn says it’s not going to happen, then it definitely well. He’s been wrong all the way along.
So, its a “political kite” or Trial? Here’s how I feel. It stinks. Write down the debt WE DONT OWE. Its the least that can be done. Stuff your half measures.
Zerohedge is saying that, it is “…most likely just a trial balloon to see the European response.”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/troika-considering-changing-irish-bailout-terms-rte-says
Sounds pretty likely. Would not be the first time something like that has happened.
I have a question. If they are extended the timeframe are they also going to higher the interest rate?
What a shower of gob….. they all are,
Debt forgiveness is on the way because its the only way..its taken the germans a couple of years to come around to the idea but it will happen..they are the only economy who can take the hit and recover
Pure spin from Donnybrook’s Pravda and well nailed in this instance Gavan. A lot more constructive than blindly rehashing incredible RTE propaganda. It would be great if more of our oh-so-conservative media were prepared to break ranks this way,
The clues are in the original report: ‘RTE has learned…’ ,,, ‘sources say …’. And we are supposed to say, doh, ok, if you say so, when we know that the source is some overpaid spin-doctor/PR guru.
I hope ‘Mr. Vincent’ gets another go at the Klaus crook.
It’s some going to think that as it stands we will still owe money in 2042 (if we manage to pay it back.) A shocking state of affairs and a real dereliction by those who have been running the country for the past 15 years.
And anyway, who really believes that extending the term of the loans will make any difference to the markets? The reason it costs so much for us to borrow is the amount of debt we have, not the duration of it particularly. Extending the loans is likely to make only a marginal difference to the cost of our borrowing. Extend, don’t extend it. Who cares? It will make no difference whatsoever.
I think this is what a “deal” is going to look like. Karl Whelan on his blog about 10 days ago discussed a similar scenario for dealing with the Prommissory Notes (remember them) so this may be a testing of the waters not so much for our benefit but for the others in Europe
If somebody wants to call Michael Noonan a b****x let them, because he is aswell as being a bully and a traitor.
Some chance
RTE the state owned waffle shop always seems to side with the goverment of the day
Keep us in our box .
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