While investment in ports has greatly improved the capacity and quality of port infrastructure and facilities, the level of growth in Ireland's international trade and in port activity generally underlines the need for continued investment. Almost 93 per cent of trade by volume and 84 per cent by value is transported through Ireland's ports each year. The returns from the top 20 ports for 1998 show that seaborne trade is at an all time high. Ports cargo throughput in 1998 increased by some 9.2 per cent from 36.66 million tonnes to a record level of 40.05 million tonnes and passenger numbers increased by almost 6 per cent over 1997 to 4.65 million.
The Government's An Action Programme for the Millennium recognises that "the necessary infrastructure to handle ever increasing volumes of tourism and trade has to be underpinned by continuing investment and the maintenance of competitiveness". The key policy objective of my Department in relation to the ports sector is to support and facilitate the availability of efficient and competitive port services.
This policy objective has been given tangible expression through the transformation of the Irish State commercial seaports in the context of the implementation of the Harbours Act, 1996. Under the Act, nine of the key commercial seaports which handle over 93 per cent of national seaborne trade – Cork, Drogheda, Dublin, Dun Laoghaire, Foynes, Galway, New Ross, Shannon Estuary and Waterford – have been corporatised as fully fledged commercial State companies.
The port companies are statutorily responsible for the management, control, direction and development of the harbours as commercial operations. Freeing up the ports from direct State control gave them the commercial freedom needed to operate in a competitive environment as a modern, customer oriented service industry, while enhancing accountability for operation and financial performance.