Drogheda Port Company is required to appear before Louth councillors every year but, despite their promises, they have failed to fulfil that requirement for several years.
They never did make it to a meeting during the several months after the Hebble Sand Dredger sank at its mooring even though Councillors asked them many times to address a meeting to explain how they were going to proceed.
Yesterday they were scheduled to report to Councillors at their meeting in Dundalk but once again they cried off at the last minute. Councillors were told the Port had notified the Council early yesterday that they would not be appearing.
Mayor of Drogheda, Paddy McQuillan said it was “disappointing, but not surprising as they have been giving us the run around for years”
Council Cathaoirleach, Councillor Kevin Callan, described the company’s ‘no-show’ as unacceptable
The Council’s Acting Chief Executive, Joe McGuinness, said he would like to review the Harbour Act before the councillors decide their next step.
“Drogheda Port Company were invited over a 12-month period to meet the members in Drogheda, so the elected councillors, and they failed to show up. Further to that, I asked that they would attend a county council meeting and as Cathaoirleach, they were requested to attend this meeting.
“They are required to attend meetings when we ask them to. They’re part of the County Council, they’re connected to the County Council and this morning at 7 o’clock, they informed the council that they would not be attending today.
“That is simply not satisfactory, they will now be requested to attend a special meeting of the council, so we’re all going to have to reconvene to facilitate that.
“It’s not acceptable in my view and it’s a disrespectful act towards the elected councillors of this county and they’re going to have to answer to that as well.”
