The condition of one of the main fishing ports - Greencastle in Co Donegal - is "not acceptable on safety grounds", according to a maritime construction expert.
Addressing the first day of a Bord Pleanála oral hearing in Buncrana into proposals to build a new pier and breakwater in Greencastle at a cost of more than €30 million, Mr Chris Brown, of consultants Posford Haskoning, explained that the number of boats using the harbour far exceeded its capacity.
There have been more than 25 objections from local residents, including the writer Brian Friel, and from some voluntary organisations.
The concerns of the objectors include disruption and the visual impact arising from the proposed works, loss of access to the seashore as well as a possible change in the character of the village.
Yesterday's proceedings centred on the reasons why Donegal County Council was advancing the proposals. Mr Brown explained that the harbour needed to be expanded not only to cope with existing landings, but also to cater for increased activities.
He noted that up to 19 small boats have had to moor in a line, saying that this could cause hazardous conditions for crews.
Mr John King, giving evidence on behalf of the Foyle Fisherman's Co-Op, said that more than 120 boats used Greencastle, which at present provided the only shelter for small trawlers operating from harbours nearby. He said more than €47 million had been invested in new and second-hand vessels by local fishermen over the past decade.
There had also been a substantial rise in shellfish landings, mainly mussels, and three new dredgers, worth €10.8 million, were on order.
This year, mussel landings were expected to exceed 10,000 tonnes.
Fishermen were constantly faced with problems when trying to berth their vessels and the congestion had led to delays of the ferry service linking Greencastle with Magilligan in Co Derry.
The additional time taken to land catches also meant that lorries waiting to depart for fish markets in Spain were delayed.
There were also difficulties in gaining access to the harbour during storms, when waves could reach almost four metres in height.
Commenting on the proposals for the harbour, Mr Jim Harley, senior executive planner with Donegal County Council, said that the plans were consistent with the policies in the National Development Plan, the National Spatial Strategy and the Co Donegal Development Plan.
The enlarged harbour would be able to cater for bigger vessels and would encourage increased on-shore processing and more boat-building and repair work.
There had been an extensive public consultation process and proposals had been made for mitigating works to lessen the visual impact on properties overlooking the area where the new breakwater and 250-metre-long pier would be built by the Department of the Marine.
The hearing continues today when the objectors will outline their concerns.