A draft masterplan for the redevelopment of the historic harbour at Dún Laoghaire in Co Dublin has been published.
Floating pontoons, a pool and sauna, along with an events centre, housing and a spa hotel are among the amenities Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council proposes to build over the next two decades.
However People Before Profit says the entire harbour area must stay in public ownership.
The construction of what was once a key gateway between Ireland and Britain began in 1817 and took a quarter of a century to complete.
More than 1,000 workers a year were said to be involved in building Dún Laoghaire harbour or Kingstown as it was known for a time.
Now the council has presented a new vision for the historic harbour with floating pontoons, a pool and sauna, retail, restaurants and recreational facilities - all part of the plan to bring people closer to the water.
Harbour Operations Manager Tim Ryan said the draft masterplan has taken suggestions from the public and inspiration from other port cities.
"These are ideas at this stage that we're asking for people's opinions on and there's a wide range of ideas. At the East Pier, we have things like a floating pavilion with a café, sauna, maybe a lounge area on it that people can come down and relax and get closer to the water.
"One of the issues in Dún Laoghaire is with our tidal range and it was largely built for shipping, the piers are quite a distance up off the water, so we want to try and get people down closer to experience it. Some of the continental cities have much lower tidal ranges than we have.
"My wish would be that it would look a lot more welcoming. That when you arrive off the train or the bus, or you cycle or walk here or you drive here, that the area you land in is a lot more people-friendly. It's easier to get around, it's more welcoming. There's more places to hang out, there's more greenery and then that there are a lot more things for people to do," he said.
A cycleway, lookout and memorial garden, along with a food hall and other features to improve the harbour as a tourism destination, are also among the proposals in the plan which sets out a blueprint for development in the area over the next 20 years.
A public consultation last autumn received more than 1,000 submissions, with the majority of those who took part wanting to see the area developed for watersports with more facilities for swimming, sailing and diving suggested.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council recently appointed designers for a national watersports campus due to be completed within a decade.
But plans for housing and a hotel there have caused concern among some.
Bríd Smyth, former TD and People Before Profit representative, who is currently running constituency affairs in Dún Laoghaire while local TD Richard Boyd Barrett undergoes cancer treatment, said that Deputy Boyd Barrett and Councillor Melisa Halpin have long campaigned for the entire harbour to remain in public ownership.
"This is a national gem. It was the first place where a suburban railway went from the harbour into the city, and it opened up the country to Britain. Masses of people could travel on that ferry back and forth to Britain. It was a very important national treasure and needs to remain so.
"We are concerned about the attempt to privatise chunks of it. We want the ferry terminal to be reopened as a heritage centre for public interest and public use, and we don't want to see this becoming a place for super hotels or apartments. It needs to remain in public hands for the benefit of the whole of Ireland, not just the people of Dún Laoghaire."
"What the people don't want is, you know, posh hotels and big apartment blocks dominating this harbour. It's a beautiful place. It's a space that thousands of people visit and we need to keep it open and public and available for heritage, public interest, culture, all of the good things that we have going for us," said Ms Smyth.
The draft masterplan is open for public consultation until 28 July.
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