asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state the circumstances in which the Irish Hazel, which is owned by Irish Shipping, Limited, has been docked for substantial overhaul and repairs at Rotterdam, and not in Rush-brooke dockyard; whether he is aware that this work would relieve unemployment in the Passage West and Cork Harbour area if it were carried out in Rushbrooke and whether he will urge Irish Shipping, Limited, to have, as a matter of general policy, all future repairs to their ships carried out in Irish dockyards.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish Shipping Repairs.
I am informed by Irish Shipping, Limited, that it was necessary to dry dock this vessel for urgent repairs after her arrival in Rotterdam from Australia on 19th October last in order to enable her to proceed to Canada to lift a cargo in accordance with her prearranged schedule.
I am aware that Irish Shipping, Limited, share my concern to ensure that, so far as practicable, repairs to their vessels will be carried out in Irish dockyards. Circumstances are bound to arise, however, in which repairs will have to be carried out elsewhere than in this country, especially where vessels engaged in the international tramp shipping trade are concerned. These vessels do not, in fact, call regularly at Irish ports.
Is the Minister not aware that this ship was waiting for five days for docking and that the journey to Ireland would be only two and a half days? Is he not also aware that the Pine is in Belfast, the Oak in an English port, and that the two tugs for the Dun Aengus that could have been built in Cork harbour were built in Cardiff? What I am concerned about, and I am sure the Minister is also, is the general policy that so many of these ships should be away while other nations have employed tugs, where the vessels could not move under their own power, in bringing them into home waters for repair.
Is the Minister further aware of the system in operation in Cork Dockyard Company of tendering for repairs, and might I inquire about the possibility of an investigation into the running of the headquarters staff of Cork Dockyard Company?
That seems to broaden the question considerably.
I think that widens the main question and should perhaps form the subject of a separate question. So far as the vessel in question, the Irish Hazel, is concerned, it arrived at Rotterdam with a cargo of sugar from Queensland. It was then obliged to call to St. Lawrence to lift a cargo of grain and oil cake between the 15th and 30th November. It was essential, therefore, that the repairs should be carried out speedily in order to enable the ship to fulfil its scheduled lifting arrangements. By having the work executed at Rotterdam while the vessel was unloading and afterwards, it was possible to enable the ship to fulfil its schedule of lifting engagements. As a result of the work being done in Rotterdam it was completed within ten days, whereas, I am informed, that if the ship had to be taken back to Cork for repairs, apart from the expense of having it out of action for the time occupied in travelling from Rotterdam to Cork, it would have taken an extra 20 days to do the work at Cork, because only one shift is working there, whereas in Rotterdam the owners of the vessel were able to benefit by the fact that there were three shifts working round the clock. I might mention, too, that Irish Shipping are most anxious to have the work done in Cork as far as that is practicable for the simple reason that Irish Shipping are paying the losses of the Cork yard. It is obvious, therefore, that these losses should be kept at a minimum, which is in itself a stimulus to Irish Shipping to place as many of its orders as possible in the Cork yard.
At the same time, the Minister will have to admit that the ships all seem to be repaired away. Of the ships I have mentioned, one has been repaired in Belfast and the other in an English port.
If the Deputy would like information on that, I would be glad if he would put down another question.
I know there will be exceptional cases but I do not want all the work to go away.
I would ask the Deputy to bear in mind that Irish Shipping are anxious to make the Cork yard as economic a proposition as possible because they have to underwrite, and have done so in recent years, the losses of the Cork yard.
I hope they will put their ideas into practice.