Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 July 2018
448. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the position regarding the process to transfer ownership and management of tier 3 ports to the local authority concerned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28708/18]
View answerNational Ports Policy, published in March 2013, provides that the five designated Ports of Regional Significance, Drogheda, Dún Laoghaire, Galway, New Ross and Wicklow, will be transferred to more appropriate local authority-led governance structures. These five ports retain important roles as facilitators of their regional economies and, in some instances, as centres of marine-related amenity and tourism activities. However, the scale and nature of these activities are not such as to warrant continued central Government involvement.
The Harbours Act 2015 provides the necessary legislative framework to allow for the transfer of the Ports of Regional Significance to local authority control. The local authorities concerned have commenced a due diligence process with the ports due to be transferred.
Two ports have already transferred to local authority control. The first of these was Wicklow Port Company which was transferred directly under the control of Wicklow County Council on 30 August 2016. On that date, the company was dissolved and its assets, liabilities and employees were transferred into the Council. The transfer of Drogheda Port Company to Louth County Council took place on 2 October 2017 and involved a transfer of shareholding retaining the limited company structure.
Work on the transfers of the three remaining ports is progressing well. My Department continues to liaise with the local authorities and ports with regard to the transfer process and the model of transfer.
