August 17, 2003
Aloft
Meanwhile, on Inishbiggle the plan to run a cablecar from the island to Achill island ) is getting closer (Inisbiggle is the small island of the north of Achill, in Blacksod bay. On Derek Davis' radio show last week, it was mentioned that tendering contracts are nearly ready. This plan has had a chequered history. This story from 1996 confidently predicted that the project would be completed the following year, at a cost of 176,000 quid (remember the punt?).
After some planning permission issues (and what project would be complete without them), the Western People reported 17 months ago that the project was about to start. And it still is. In this year's budget estimates, Mayo County Council have put the cost of the project at 3 million euro (though they will only pay 190,000 euro, with the Department of the Gaeltacht kicking in the rest. Given that the Spanish reckon they could build the Luas for a fration of what the Irish are spending, maybe we should let them build the cablecar.
A cablecar between the islands would be a tourist attraction in itself, though I wouldn't fancy using it on a winter's day, with the west wind howling in from the Atlantic. Still, it's better than rowing across.
Posted by Monasette at August 17, 2003 02:00 AM | TrackBack