The Department of Communications, Marine & Natural Resources has denied that €26 million in funding for marine infrastructure projects has been withdrawn.

The Irish Marine Federation (IMF) claims that the allocation under the National Development Plan for marina projects will not now be spent. Community coastal projects extending from Donegal to Kerry to Skerries in north Dublin will be affected, Mr Bernard Gallagher, spokesman for the federation , told The Irish Times.

Mr Gallagher said the federation was "shattered" at the Government's move. "This will hit peripheral areas where communities had hoped to develop marine tourism.

"Economic opportunities in these areas are already very limited," he said.

A 9 per cent cutback in marine spending "amounting to 13 per cent overall in his department" has been defended by the Minister, Mr Ahern, who has said that next year's allocation should be viewed as a "plateau" rather than a decline.

Mr Gallagher said that the Marine Institute's plan for such a network had been published and backed by the Government, and some communities had already spent considerable sums on feasibility studies.

"However, not one project was approved when the money was still available, partly because the criteria were so harsh," he said.

In Rossaveal, Co Galway, the development committee for its €29 million project to upgrade the harbour has also accused the Government of forgetting the west. Contracts for much needed dredging in the congested harbour have not been signed, and the committee is concerned that the promised development will be shelved.

A spokesman for the Minister said that much of the allocation for fishery harbours would be soaked up by the current upgrading of Killybegs, Co Donegal. "The commitments for other harbours are there, and we have just had to adjust the timescale," the spokesman said.

Marine safety continued to be a "top priority",and the provision had increased by almost €1.5 million to almost €30.5 million.