Licence fee sees jazz cruise cancelled

A ferry company was singing the blues last night after bureaucrats torpedoed its plans for a jazz cruise around Cork harbour.

As Cork's 30th international jazz festival kicked off, pleas to the Department of Transport to allow Brittany Ferries stage its third annual jazz cruise around Cork harbour fell on deaf ears.

The department's Marine Survey Office refused to budge on its demand for a E10,000 special licence to allow the company sail its flagship E100 million Pont Aven vessel around the harbour for the three-hour event.

As a result, the event will still go ahead but with the vessel tied up at Ringaskiddy.

Up to 1,200 people had booked to enjoy the jazz cruise. The vessel was due to sail from Ringaskiddy at noon, taking jazz fans down the harbour to Roche's Point and back.

But for the first time in the event's three-year history, department officials demanded the company pay 10,000 for a domestic licence for the event.

The Pont Aven is due to sail for France at 4pm today. The ferry company was notified two weeks ago that for the first time, it would need a domestic licence to proceed with this year's jazz cruise.

The company's general manager Hugh Bruton said "this would have made the cruise ridiculously expensive".

Negotiations followed between the company, the department, the Port of Cork and representatives of the French Embassy.

But all hopes of a resolution finally disappeared beneath when the department refused to budge.

Mr Bruton said "department officials have denied the people of Cork a great family day out."

Roscoff - Cork

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07/09/2012 - 08/09/2012

£225

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02/11/2012 - 03/11/2012

£501

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