Vol. 571 No. 1
764 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the concessions granted by him in relation to the proposed increases in harbour charges; if it is proposed to use this additional finance to improve facilities in the harbours; if so, the improvements planned for Dunmore East, County Waterford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20994/03]
The proposed charges at the fishery harbour centres – Castletownbere, Killybegs, Howth, Rossaveale and Dunmore East – were published on 21 May 2003 and following the statutory consultation period and a subsequent meeting with representatives of the harbours and the industry the order was made on 17 September 2003 with substantial changes to those originally proposed. The following table shows the main changes made.
The revised charges were introduced to address an operating deficit of €544,990 in 2002 and an accumulated deficit of €1.2 million at the fishery harbour centres. The income generated will be used to meet the operational costs of the harbour and the capital development will be funded as heretofore from the Exchequer, €30 million in 2003.
In respect of Dunmore East, I have recently appointed engineering consultants to develop proposals in respect of the design and the preparation of the statutory permissions for the development. The advancement of the development will be dependent on the Exchequer funding available in the 2004-07 period for fishery harbour development projects and overall national priorities.
The following table shows the main changes made.
Fishery Harbour Centre Rates and Charges: table of Main Changes
|
Proposed |
Revised |
|
|
Annual Harbour Entry Charge for fishing vessels |
€10.00 per gross tonne |
€3.00 per gross tonne |
|
Single Harbour Entry Charge for fishing vessels |
€1.00 per gross tonne |
€0.50 per gross tonne |
|
Single Harbour Entry Charge for merchant vessel |
€1.00 per gross tonne |
€0.50 per gross tonne |
|
Fish Loading Charge |
||
|
0 –€500 per tonne€501 –€10,000 per tonne |
€6.00 per tonne€16.00 per tonne |
€4.00 per tonne€10.00 per tonne |
|
Mackerel and Horse MackerelFish for fish meal |
€12.00 per tonne€6.00 per tonne |
€10.00 per tonne€2.00 per tonne |
|
Loading and discharging cargo |
€2.50 per tonne |
€1.25 per tonne for up to 150 tonne |
|
Tied up vessels |
No longer applies to fishing vessels |
|
|
Vessels not licensed etc. |
Sliding scale of charges, increasing every 4 weeks |
|
|
Passenger vessel charge |
€1.20 per passenger |
€0.80 for multiple journey tickets |
|
Use of swinging moorings |
Moved to Schedule 2 to allow for lower charges at locations other than Howth |
|
|
Operation of mobile cranes |
Moved to Schedule 2 to allow for lower charges depending on circumstances |
|
|
Fuel deliveries to vessels |
€0.004 per litre |
Removed |
|
Syncrolift |
||
|
Transfer |
€540.00 (sample) |
€270.00 (sample) |
|
Standing charge |
€100.00 per day for 7 days |
€100.00 per day for 10 days |
