asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state the reasons for refusing sanction to the acceptance of a tender from the Verolme Dockyard Company for the building of a tender for the Cork Harbour Commissioners in favour of a tender from the Liffey Dockyard Company, which was £12,000 higher; and if he is aware that this discrimination in favour of Dublin dockyards is creating grave uneasiness in the port of Cobh, and may prevent much needed competition in tendering for contracts.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Verolme Dockyard Company's Tender.
60.
The grant of a new manufacture licence to the Verolme Cork Dockyard Limited to enable the company to engage in the building of ships at Rushbrooke was subject to the specific condition that, without the permission of the Minister, they shall not build vessels of 3,000 tons dead weight and/or 2,000 tons gross, or less for the domestic market. It is mandatory on the Minister when considering any application for a new manufacture licence to have regard, inter alia, to the position of existing undertakings lawfully established at the date of the application, by persons entitled to operate without a new manufacture licence.
Accordingly, the condition inserted in the licence granted to the Verolme Cork Dockyard Limited was necessary to safeguard the position of the existing Irish shipyard and it was clear that the only circumstances in which a waiver of the conditions would be warranted would be that an order for a ship would otherwise be lost to the country because the existing shipyard was unable, at the time, to take the contract. In the case of the vessel referred to by the Deputy, these circumstances did not exist, and I had no option therefore but to refuse the application for a waiver of the licence condition.
As the Deputy is aware, the announced object of the Verolme Cork Dockyard in establishing a major shipyard at Rushbrooke was to build large ships. In view of the imminent prospect of an order from Irish Shipping Ltd. for the building at the Rushbrooke yard of a ship of 14,700 tons dead weight, I am not aware of any ground for any uneasiness in the port of Cobh.
The implication in the question of discrimination by the Minister in favour of any particular area in the discharge of his statutory functions is very much to be deprecated.