It is expected that cable-car works on Dursey Island will be completed early this month, Cork County Council has said.
The service has been closed from April 1, 2022 for essential repairs due to the impact of Storm Barra and increased corrosion to the structure.
Cork County Council said that works to replace island and mainland tower infrastructure for the cable car have been affected by recent adverse weather and difficult sea conditions.
The council said it is “anticipated” that the works will be completed in early April. It was initially announced that the cable-car service would be closed for eight months.
However, before the service can resume, consent has to be granted by the Commission for Railways Regulation (CRR). The council didn’t say whether it expects to receive consent this month.
Cork County Council said that it will publish the date the cable-car service will resume when all the construction and regulatory issues have concluded.
Dursey Island
A ferry service to the island has been in place since late-May which, however, has been affected by adverse weather leaving farmers without access to the island at times.
The Cork west chair of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) Donal O’Donovan said that some cattle and sheep have been taken off Dursey Island over the past weeks.
The situation was very difficult for the farmers themselves, O’Donovan said, as the animals were about to calve on the island without assistance.
While the IFA chair said it is “hugely important” to have the cable-car service back on, he said “we have been at this point in the past” and farmers were hoping it would be open this week.
The CRR is an independent regulatory body which reports to the Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan. It is the body’s function to ensure compliance with the relevant legislation.
The cableway at Lambs Head, Co. Cork is presently the only one operating in the state, and has been connecting Dursey Island to the mainland since 1969, the CRR said.