I compliment Foynes Harbour on its submission. I support an enterprising organisation which is prepared to expand, to improve its facilities and to avail of opportunities in the 1990s as far as business is concerned. There was controversy in relation to the application for the extension and the Minister, in his wisdom, arranged for the appointment of a mediator. I am pleased he has accepted the recommendations of the mediator.
Enterprising people, like this local group which wants to expand, must be complimented. The Minister has responded in a positive way, which is to be commended. However, I worry that attempts might be made to prevent that expansion. The mediator consulted with the various interests, got advice from concerned parties and came up with a conclusion. The initial application was somewhat reduced. A mooring point near Aughinish Island was removed, but four further points towards Battery Point were left. This appears to be a reasonable recommendation with which I have no difficulty.
I spoke to the pilots on the Shannon who have expressed concern about safety. I am familiar with the amount of traffic on the Shannon and I wish there were more boats and ships on the river. I sorry to say I have not seen congestion in the Shannon Estuary. I hope that with future development we may reach a point where there will be congestion and where aspects of safety would need to be addressed. However, with skilful management and co-operation, movement on the river can be easily managed to allow the extension to which the Minister has agreed. Although I am not an expert or a pilot, that is my view, given the level of traffic, and I would be interested to hear an opposing one. We want to see increased traffic and activity on the River Shannon because that will mean more business in the region, more money being generated and the possibility of greater development with more industrial companies establishing in the area because the facilities are already in place.
I welcome the points made on the powers and duties of the new port companies. The Minister outlined eight areas of responsibility. I am concerned about the power which gives a port company the authority to engage in any business activities, either alone or in conjunction with other persons, that it considers to be advantageous to the development of its harbour. I would like to put this in the context of what we witnessed in semi-State companies previously. For example, Aer Lingus engaged in activities not directly related to aviation, including the purchase of hotels. We subsequently saw the difficulties which arose in that company.
