Written Answers. - Dublin Port.
Richard Bruton
Question:
119
Mr. R. Bruton
asked the
Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources
if he will appoint members to the task force on Dublin Port congestion who have a particular expertise in environmental assessment and environmental protection, in order that the issues of incursion into the bay and the supervision of pipelines can be considered from a wider public and amenity interest viewpoint.
[10171/01]
On 27 March 2001 I appointed an expert task force to advise me on transport logistics in connection with commercial seaports.
This is the first time transport logistics will be assessed for our seaports which handle 99% by volume of our imports and exports. As the Deputy will be aware, the number one port in the State is Dublin and it is increasingly suffering from congestion. Handling a throughput of some 21 million tonnes in 2000 out of a total national ports throughput of 43 million tonnes, it is at the heart of Ireland's transport chain. It is a fact that many ports are located within or in proximity to busy and often congested city and town centres. We need to do everything possible to ease traffic congestion at ports like Dublin and at the other key seaports serving the national and regional economies.
It is vital for all our major seaports at Greenore, Drogheda, Dún Laoghaire, Rosslare, Waterford, New Ross, Cork, Shannon Foynes and Galway as well as Dublin – that we all work towards achieving a seamless transport chain from road or rail through ports and that we do this in a way that avoids delays, congestion and environmental damage and adds to Irish competitiveness.
I have asked the group to specifically examine the potential for increasing the volume of port traffic which is transported by rail and the transfer of port generated freight traffic from road to rail including the development of rail head facilities at existing ports; transport of freight across transport modes by night-off peak times; rail, road and shipping; and opportunities for traffic diversion including by rail and pipeline, including relocation of oil tank farms to other less congested ports outside Dublin.
The group will also seek to identify other imaginative proposals to reduce congestion and make port access-egress more efficient, identify cost effective options for the movement of port related traffic through Dublin and the possibility for transfer of non-essential activities away from ports.
The task force is chaired by Dr. John Mangan of the Irish Management Institute, an expert in transport logistics. It also includes experts from the ports and shipping industries, local authorities, Departments, Iarnród Éireann as well as the social partners and independent specialists from the transport and other sectors. In relation to environmental assessment and protection, I specifically made provision to include a representative from the Department of the Environment and Local Government on the task force to ensure that all matters relating to the environment are taken into account.
The task force has invited submissions-representations from interested bodies or people as part of a wide-ranging public consultation process. Statutory and non statutory bodies dealing with environmental matters have been invited to make submissions.
I am anxious that the task force consult widely and take on board the views of all interested parties, especially those who rely on sea transport and the ports industry for their livelihoods.
Richard Bruton
Question:
120
Mr. R. Bruton
asked the
Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources
if he will advise Dublin Port Company that it should suspend any further work on the proposal to fill in 52 acres of Dublin bay, pending the completion of the task force's assessment of alternative ways of handling the growing volumes of cargo.
[10172/01]
The Dublin Port Company has confirmed that no reclamation work is under way in the area in question. The Deputy will recall that a new environmental impact statement is required before the application for a foreshore permission for such reclamation is resubmitted to my Department. It is a commercial decision for Dublin Port Company to decide whether it wishes to suspend work on the preparation of this EIS pending the completion of the task force's assessment. Therefore, it would be improper of me to request the company to suspend work on its preparation.
