Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 July 2018
447. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the reason the national ports policy states that competition between ports here should be a key policy goal in view of the fact that certain ports have selective access to financing under the TEN-T programme whereas others do not. [28707/18]
View answerAs an island nation it is imperative that we have strong competitive ports to trade globally. Our commercial ports, however, differ greatly in size, capability and future potential. The long-term international trend in ports and shipping is toward increased consolidation of resources in order to achieve optimum efficiencies of scale. Therefore the core objective of National Ports Policy (NPP) is to facilitate a competitive and effective market for maritime transport services. National Ports Policy introduces a clear categorisation of the ports based on tonnage and the clear potential to provide future port capacity.
It is already evident that larger vessels requiring greater depths are becoming the norm, necessitating greater investment in ports. There is no Exchequer funding available for infrastructural development but the Ports of National Significance (Tier 1) are required to lead the response to future national port capacity requirements, as the development of large scale port infrastructure requires significant organizational, operational and financial resources. There is also a role in this regard for the Ports of National Significance (Tier 2) to develop additional capacity to aid competitive conditions, within the unitised sectors in particular.
National Ports Policy provides that the Ports of Regional Significance retain important roles as facilitators of their regional economies and, in some instances, as centres of marine-related amenity and tourism activities.
Similarly at a European level the planning, development and operation of trans-European transport networks (TEN-T) contribute to the attainment of major EU objectives, including contributing to further economic growth and competitiveness in a global perspective as set out in the Europe 2020 Strategy and the Commission White Paper entitled "Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area – Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system" ("the White Paper"). TEN-T aims to develop a Europe-wide network of roads, railway lines, inland waterways, maritime shipping routes, ports, airports and rail-road terminals in a resource-efficient and sustainable way.
The Tier 1 and Tier 2 Ports of National Significance are currently included on the TEN-T network, as they meet the necessary criteria under Regulation (EU) 1315/2013. The criteria to qualify for inclusion as a TEN-T Port are outlined in Article 20(2) of EU Regulation No. 1315/2013. These criteria were set at a European level.
