As the Deputy is aware, I established the task force on transport logistics under the chairmanship of Dr. John Mangan to advise me on transport logistics in connection with ports. The task force will examine the potential and prospects for the following: increasing the volume of port traffic that is transported by rail and the transfer of port-generated freight traffic from road to rail, including the development of railhead facilities at existing ports; transport of freight across transport modes by night or during off-peak hours; for traffic diversion. The latter includes diversion by rail, by pipeline including relocation of oil tank farms and to other less congested ports outside Dublin.
The task force 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; identify the possibility for transfer of non-essential activities away from ports.
In addition to these specific tasks, the group will be free to advise on any aspects of the transport logistics of ports that they feel merit comment. This group will take into account various reports and international experience. In an effort to consult as widely as possible, it has placed advertisements in the national media inviting submissions from interested parties. To date, the task force has met on two occasions and I expect to have a report after September 2001.
The current membership of the task force is as follows:
