asked the Minister for Transport and Power if there have been any developments towards the establishment of a harbour authority and the collection of port and tonnage dues at Whiddy Island.
15.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Harbour Authority for Whiddy Island.
14.
asked the Minister for Transport and Power if there have been any developments since last November which would warrant reconsideration of the question of establishing a harbour authority at Whiddy Island.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 and 15 together.
There have been no developments in this regard since I replied to previous questions on this subject last November.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that, according to a reply to a Parliamentary Question some time ago, the only place in the British Isles where Universe Ireland can dock with a full load is at Whiddy Island?
Is that in the British Isles?
The principals of Gulf Oil stated that they have no objection to the establishment of a harbour authority and, as oil is leaving our country and going to other places in Europe, this country is losing somewhere between £250,000 and £500,000 a year in harbour and tonnage dues because of the way in which this matter has been handled.
I resent the Deputy's suggestion that Whiddy Island is in the British Isles. We have gone through this one before.
(Cavan): Deal with the substance of the question.
I am rather surprised that the Deputy should show a mock interest in Whiddy and that he should be interfering with what should be a matter for his colleague, Deputy Seán Collins.
But national taxation is a national matter and should be one for the Government as a whole.
I am surprised the Deputy is not aware that the function of a harbour authority is not to collect funds nationally but to operate a harbour. It is not a profitmaking concern; its job is to collect sufficient money to maintain the harbour. As all this work has been done at Whiddy by Gulf Oil out of their own resources, I do not see any necessity for giving consideration to the formation of a harbour authority there until such time as there is further development undertaken there by some other group that might necessitate such action.
Do harbour authorities collect port dues?
Port dues are——
Yes, they do. Furthermore, they collect considerable dues. This country is losing between £250,000 and £500,000 a year because of the way in which this has been handled.
It has all been spent on services.
On the development of the harbour only.
Is there not gross neglect on our part in this country in that we could be collecting revenue from a very large oil company and we are turning down this opportunity? We do not have too much revenue and we are turning down the opportunity of collecting revenue from an oil company that got a damn good bargain from us.
Harbour dues are not considered to be revenue. They are collected for the continuing requirements and maintenance of the harbour.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary not aware that experts in this area have commented on the fact that Gulf Oil have got a fantastic bargain from the Irish people in their installation at Whiddy and, surely, it is time we extracted our pound of flesh from this bargain?
I do not always accept as experts people Deputy O'Leary may feel are experts. We have got some idea of this recently.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that harbour dues and port dues are being charged in Milford Haven? Is he further aware that Universe Ireland can carry only two-thirds of its cargo if it goes anywhere else than Whiddy Island? This is a disgrace for the Taoiseach again.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary stating we do not need money for the further development and maintenance of this harbour?
I am not saying that. It was being suggested that the nation was losing revenue that could be used for other purposes. What I am saying is that any money that would be collected by way of port fees would, of necessity, be used for the benefit of the people using that harbour. At the moment the principal, almost only, user of that harbour is the Gulf Oil Company. If, as I have already indicated to the Cork County Council and other interested parties, there was any further development in Bantry Bay, we could consider the creation of a harbour authority there.
Who will pay for the maintenance of this harbour now? If the Parliamentary Secretary says this money will be needed for development of the harbour, who will pay for its maintenance and development if they will not provide this money?
That question does not arise. The Cork County Council will be getting a sizeable amount of money from the development which has already taken place there and this can be used towards the amount of maintenance of the harbour that is required at the present time.
Could the Minister say——
We cannot allow these supplementary questions to go on all evening.
If port and tonnage dues are charged at other ports which can only take this boat with two-thirds of its cargo, surely we should charge port and tonnage dues where we can take it with the full cargo?
If dues are being collected at Milford Haven, the money taken there has, of necessity, to be used for the development of that port and the harbour commissioners at Milford Haven have had to spend the money on developing that port to take these tankers. In our case, in Bantry Bay, the Gulf Oil Company had to sponsor and pay for their own development of Whiddy.