By Donal McMahon
A Stormont department key to appointing “commissioners” to a Co Down port says it has no need for councillors amid a stink protest.
The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Minister Liz Kimmins has invited councillors to apply to the board of Warrenpoint Harbour Authority (WHA), following resignations last July over concerns of foul odours in the town.
However, all political parties on the council have told the Local Democracy Reporting Service, that they have not nominated anyone to the board despite a CEO’s deadline passing.
The LDRS contacted DfI for clarity on the board membership, with a spokesperson saying: “The Warrenpoint Harbour Authority continues to operate within quorum.
“There is no statutory requirement for councillors to serve on the board.”
Environment groups and local residents have raised concerns for the last three years over a perceived stink at the port, they claim is linked to waste bales at the harbour to be shipped for Newry recycling company Re-Gen. The bales are exported to be incinerated in Scandinavian areas.
Former WHA board members, councillors Jim Brennan (Sinn Fein) and Laura Devlin (SDLP) resigned last year in solidarity with local people complaining of the bad smell.
Currently, independent Crotlieve elected member Jarlath Tinnelly is the only councillor to sit on the board.
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council chief executive Marie Ward had set a deadline (5 Aug) for elected members to show interest in taking up the vacant non-executive roles at the port, but no parties have put any names forward.
The DfI spokesperson added:”While the legislation permits up to three commissioners to be council members, it does not state a minimum number.
“The board remains properly constituted and can continue to operate effectively even in the absence of any councillors serving as commissioners.”
The councillors had been appointed for terms of four years back in 2024, with a potential situation now presenting itself of two empty board seats until 2028 or longer.
Councillors appointed to the board by the DfI minister can expect to be paid “£8,772 per year for up to two business days per month” according to a DfI letter presented to the council.
In September (2025), WHA stated that it had extensive engagement with Re-Gen, with the Newry company agreeing to remove all RDF (refuse derived fuel) bales from the port, with a proposal to no longer store the waste there, but instead transport it directly to ships for export.
Only SRF (solid recovered fuel) bales were to be stored in future on the site, which the WHA was told should be non-odorous.
As a result of extensive talks and an independent environmental audit report, the WHA set up the community forum to provide a key communication basis on potential bad smells from the port located in the centre of the town.
However, in April this year, forum member Fionnuala McKinley, who lives just yards from port, stepped down and called for an independent environmental impact study.
Applications to DfI for councillors to the board will close on 28 August.
ENDS