Residents of Cape Clear Island will have noticed recently that the badly damage sea wall along the inner section of Duffys pier has actually started to crumble with stones falling out in recent weeks. This increases the danger to traffic and especially children and of course the hole underneath on the outside is also only getting bigger and more unstable as time goes on. The horizontal cracks in the wall are also getting visibly wider. We understand that emergency funds were provided last year to repair this section of the pier but the work has not been carried out because of delays with planning permission. As the photos show this section is narrower that the newer part which begins further out and it would a ridiculous waste of public monies not to extend the pier outwards by these few meters as part of the refurbishment. Sadly, these few additional meters mean that a full planning process must be entered into, hence the delay.  As some one commented recently, it matters little if some one is killed by a falling pier in the meantime as long as all the procedures are adhered to. This is a no win situation for the Dept Marine, if they repair the pier as was they will be accused of wasting funds by  not extending it and if they wait for planning permission in order to do a proper job consistent with the long term development of the harbor they will be blamed if anything untoward happens in the meantime. We earnestly hope that nothing delays the planning process further in this instance.  Photos also show the current works at the Bulls Nose and the North end of Duffys Pier showing the new look Bulls Nose and the shuttering in place for the concrete facing on Duffy's Pier. Meanwhile we could not help noticing, ( last photo below) Doris's mermaid, on Sean Ruas Pier, still going strong after more than 20 years.Since this lady has borne the full brunt of many storms over the years Doris's civil minded efforts have been well rewarded.