Seanad Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 30 Mar 1993

Vol. 135 No. 10

Adjournment Matters. - Foynes Harbour Development.

Mr. Neville

I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for taking this motion asking him to sanction the Foynes Harbour Trustees Development Plan, 1992-1999. This plan will cost £19.6 million and will have a profound effect on west Limerick and on the mid-west area. The key issue is job creation and the implementation of this plan will create 300 extra jobs directly and 180 jobs indirectly. A total of 480 jobs depend on the implementation of this plan. In 1963 Foynes port employed 60 people and today 30 years later, it employs 400 people. If this plan is implemented that figure will rise to 700.

I ask the Minister to sanction the development plan and to submit Cohesion Funds. Recent growth at Foynes has resulted in increased shipping and tonnage through the port, and the take up of land at the port has put port amenities under pressure. The port has inadequate berthage for the amount of business available to it and has inadequate serviced land for necessary development.

The present infrastructure network serving the port is inadequate and this has been confirmed by existing and potential port users. There is considerable shipping congestion in the port. A plan has been devised to overcome these difficulties and to launch Foynes harbour into another stage of development. The £19.6 million comprises £8 million for additional berthage, £6.5 million for capital dredging and £1.8 million for land acquisition and reclamation. A number of years ago the Foynes Harbour trustees purchased a considerable amount of land all of which has now been used for port related activities and two modern factories have been erected in the harbour area.

A roadway costing £1.2 million is required for the development and I stress to the Minister the need for an entrance to the port from the east side of Foynes. As a result of increased activity at the port, difficulties are being experienced in the town due to the large number of container type trucks using the port. It is in the interests of the people of the town and of the harbour itself that this new entrance be built as a matter of urgency.

Infrastructural development under the new plan — drainage, water mains, lighting, service lines and so on — will cost £1.5 million. There is also a proposal to extend warehouse facilities at a cost of £600,000. This plan will increase the capacity of the harbour to cater for panamax type vessels — 60,000 to 70,000 tonne vessels — which are the ships of the future. The port, at present, can accomodate ships of 30,000 to 35,000 tonnes.

This port contributes £20 million to £25 million annually in customs and excise duties and £2.5 million in PAYE and PRSI contributions from employers and employees. The value of goods handled by the port last year amounted to £330 million. This plan has received full support from Limerick County Council, Irish Rail, which services the port, Shannon Development, Telecom Éireann and other agencies. The last allocation of £700,000 for the port was disappointing. It was used to partially fund the construction of the mooring dolphin crane.

I refer to a letter which I received from Deputy Andrews, Minister of State at the Department of the Marine on 10 March 1993, regarding this issue. I had informed him that Foynes harbour was designated under the Operational Programme on Peripherality 1989-93, as a local port. I have already outlined here the difference in emphasis and development between commercial and local ports. We understand now that Foynes has been reclassified as a commercial port which is vital for obtaining the necessary funds. The Minister, Deputy Andrews, refers to Foynes as a local port. I ask the Minister in his reply to confirm that the port has been reclassified as a commercial port and as such will receive top priority for the allocation of structural and regional funds.

With the permission of the House I wish to give the rest of my time to Senator Daly who, as a former Minister for the Marine, is familiar with this issue.

Mr. Daly

I agree that a plan for the development of the Foynes Harbour area is necessary. Having previously dealt with Foynes Harbour trustees I consider them to be forward looking and co-operative. As Minister for the Marine I had different plans for Foynes. I introduced legislation at one stage to make Foynes the headquarters of the new Shannon port authority which would have placed it in a good position to attract structural funding. There was a difference of opinion on that proposal and it fell through.

This is an excellent, carefully documented plan that is fully supported by the local community and by people on the Clare side of the estuary. It is important that Foynes secure substantial structural funding to enable worthwhile development to take place there. I am glad of this opportunity to support the project and I hope it will be successful.

Minister of State at the Department of the Marine (Mr. G. O'Sullivan)

I thank Senator Neville for his kind opening remarks.

I am fully aware of the growth in trade experienced by the port of Foynes in the past decade. Throughput at the port has increased from 667,000 tonnes in 1983 to 1.3 million tonnes in 1992. That is no mean achievement for any port the size of Foynes. In terms of volume throughput Foynes harbour is the fifth ranking port in the State. The harbour is an important cost-competitive port on the west coast and I know that the trustees consider the port to be on a par with Dublin port in relation to the size of vessel which can presently be accommodated — approximately 36,000 tons deadweight. Due credit must be given to the harbour trustees for their unceasing efforts to promote the port and give a cost effective and efficient service to port users. The importance of the port for the local economy can be seen from the fact that direct employment related to the trade of the port is estimated at 413 jobs, a significent number in local terms.

Recognition of the trustees' hard work in developing trade has been made tangible by the inclusion in the current round of European Regional Development Fund funding, under the Operational Programme on Peripherality, of two projects: the installation of mooring dolphins and the provision of a mobile harbour crane for the port. These developments, which together will cost in the region of £1.8 million, have attracted 50 per cent EC aid under the Operational Programme on Peripherality. The mooring dolphins have significantly reduced congestion at the port and the mobile harbour crane, which I understand has now been commissioned, will enable the port authorities to reduce turnaround time for ships and enable the port to handle an expected increase in trade.

The Department of the Marine invited submissions from commercial harbour authorities and private companies for projects to be considered for funding under the Cohesion Fund and a further round of European Regional Development Fund funding. Foynes Harbour Trustees presented a £19.6 million development plan for consideration. The development plan consists of the construction of a new deepwater west berth some 230m long which will accommodate ships of up to 70,000 tonnes deadweight; capital dredging of the channels entering the harbour and the central harbour area to allow passage of these very large ships and the development of a road system and warehousing facility in the port area.

The Department is evaluating all submissions received in order to develop an integrated and strategic programme of investment in harbour facilities. This programme will be assisted by the EC Cohesion and Structural Funds and will enable our key commercial ports to cater for increasing demand and new designs of ships.

In the Programme for a Partnership Government we have indicated that port investment will concentrate on key commercial freight and passenger ports including the Shannon estuary. A project team is currently examining all proposals for the development of the Shannon estuary as a major European economic trading bridgehead and the proposals put forward by the Foynes Harbour trustees are being examined in this study also.

All submissions received by the Department of the Marine are evaluated on an equal footing to ensure that the country has the portal infrastructure and handling equipment to cater for our needs into the 21st century. As the Senator is aware, the Department has received a large number of proposals for the development of national and regional ports. On the basis of these proposals, a comprehensive port development programme has been submitted by the Department for consideration in the preparation of the national plan for the utilisation of the next round of Structural Funds. Pending the settling of the ports allocation in the national plan, I am not in a position to indicate the extent to which it will be possible to include the Foynes proposals.

It is important to state clearly that, until now, Structural and Cohesion Funds have been allocated to airports and to road infrastructure. I am determined, as Minister responsible for port development, to ensure that ports get the funding they deserve. They have been neglected and, on this occasion, we must make a strong case for port development. Foynes is one of the ports that will be seriously considered.

Mr. Neville

Has the Minister confirmed that Foynes has now been reclassified as a commercial rather than a local port as was stated in the Programme for Peripherality?

Mr. G. O'Sullivan

To answer the question, a nod is as good as a wink. That is as far as I will go this evening.