A proposed navigation channel from Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club into Dublin Bay was "not an essential" and could be dropped, the port company told the Department of the Marine. The channel was included in the Dublin Port Company's scheme to reclaim 21 hectares of the bay.
The yacht club has expressed "surprise" and "disappointment" at the news of the port authority's position, claiming it ran contrary to "arrangements" it had agreed with the company.
The inclusion of the 30-metre wide navigation channel, dredged to a depth of 1.5 metres below current depth was designed to solve a problem of decreasing hours at which the club can be accessed by some boats due to increasing silt in the area over the last decade.
The yacht club had previously objected to infill schemes in Dublin Bay, but the inclusion of the channel in the current plan ensured the yacht club was not among local groups which aligned with Dublin Baywatch to oppose the company's plans.
However, in a letter from Mr Michael Sheary, secretary of the Dublin Port Company, to the Department of the Marine, revealed under a Freedom of Information request, the port company claimed the channel was "not an essential component of the scheme", and that "an alternative could be sought or the initiative would not be progressed".
The letter and other papers also reveal that the Department expressed irritation with the quality of the company's approach to the application for permission.
A spokesman for the yacht club, Mr Martin McEvoy, told The Irish Times that the members had been unaware of the port company's offer to drop the proposed navigation channel and were very disappointed by it.
The contents of the letter had come as "a surprise", said Mr McEvoy. "That would banjax our arrangements. It is totally counter to the arrangements they made with ourselves," he said.
Asked if the absence of a channel would change the yacht club's attitude to the reclamation, Mr McEvoy said it would.
"A yacht club without access to the bay is not exactly great."
Following the emergence of the letter, the Dublin Port Company said it arose "from archaeological concerns raised by Dúchas" which may impact on the company's plans.
"At this point there is no change in the company's commitment to the CYBC, but if, after the surveys are completed, there are issues that might cause us to reconsider the commitment, we will be making contact with them to address that situation as a priority."
Meanwhile, Dublin City councillor and Dublin Baywatch spokesman Mr Gerry Breen has issued a call for the yacht club to "withdraw support for this ill-considered scheme and join the local residents and community groups in formulating a plan for the future public use of the bay for all".
