Councillor Paul Bradley said, "God forbid Donegal County Council would be running the RNLI, we'd all be drowned."

The meeting heard that the project can't go ahead until a licence from the Department.

Assistant County Manager Liam Kelly said, "There are a number of conditions to be met before the final licence can be issued. These are currently under review and a final course of action should be agreed within the next two weeks.

"The project itself will take 6-8 months to construct. Any projects funded by the department for 2008 must be completed before the end of November. Therefore this breakwater could not be completed within the time constraints."

Colr Joe Doherty told the meeting that he did not agree with council officials' advice that work on the breakwater could not begin over the winter.

"We'd be wrong to hold it back. Look at the weather we've had the last few days, better than what we've had in June and July.

"We have to put our weight behind this and make sure work does commence before the end of the year. I propose we write back saying that, as a council, we feel strongly that work should commence before the end of the year."

Mayor Dermot McLaughlin seconded the proposal, stating: "We are a co-funder of this, but we have not been shown the draft lease or tenders which you say have been in since April. We've offered the money year after year and I think it is very discourteous, to put it mildly, that the officials have not shown us anything."

He also pointed out that the rockwork on the breakwater could go ahead at any time of year.

"We've been told about work not being able to go ahead because of inclement weather but that's not the issue. Lorries can bring the rock down and dump it, irrespective of weather. We have to get the go ahead from the department to start now, and roll the project over the year end."

Colr Paul Bradley summed up the members' frustration: " Everything seems to come to a standstill when we try to get anything positive and concrete done. God forbid Donegal County Council would be running the RNLI, we'd all be drowned. We always seem to run into the stone wall of bureaucracy. This carry-on does not happen in the real world, the commercial world."