Fenit Harbour is still without its crane, six months after it was sent to the UK for repairs.
The crane was sent away to be fixed in June, with repairs originally scheduled to be completed within two weeks.
Kerry County Council, which has responsibility for Fenit Harbour, now says it hopes to have the crane returned before Christmas.
The delay in its return has led to calls from Cllr Deirdre Ferris for the council to waive this year’s harbour fees for the fishermen.
Cllr Ferris raised the matter at the Tralee Municipal District meeting in September, when Kerry County Council said the crane needed additional repairs, which took an extra six to eight weeks.
At that point, the council hoped the repairs would be completed and the crane returned to Fenit by early October.
In November, Kerry County Council announced the crane was fixed and would be back on site soon.
The council now says it hopes to have the crane returned by Christmas.
The council says a specialist shipping company will transport the crane to Fenit, and cannot give a deadline on its return until it has confirmation that the crane is with the shipping company.
The delay in the crane’s return forced fishermen in Fenit to pay a private company up to €250 per lift.
Kerry County Council covered the cost of a crane for the fishermen for one day at the start of the oyster season.
However, Cllr Deirdre Ferris has repeatedly called on the council to also waive harbour fees for the fishermen for this year.
The Sinn Féin Councillor says the fishermen aren’t getting any service for the fees.
Kerry County Council maintains it is not in a position to offset charges for the fishermen.
