asked the Minister for Transport and Power if it is correct that the B & I motor vessel Dundalk and the B & I motor vessel Kilkenny are being sold by the company with the consequent loss of employment to nearly 30 Irishmen; and if they are being replaced by two German boats with German crews.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Sale of B & I Vessels.
5.
The acquisition and disposal of vessels to suit the requirements of the company's trade are the responsibility of the Board of the B & I company.
I am informed by the company that they propose to dispose of the my Dundalk. This vessel is 27 years old and cannot be put into a seaworthy condition at an economic cost. It is also surplus to the company's conventional traffic requirements and is unsuitable for unit load operations. The company have no plans for the disposal of the my Kilkenny. Most of the crew employed on the my Dundalk will be absorbed in other vessels of the company's fleet.
The company proposes to charter two German unit load vessels to cater for their growing trade in this category.
Would the Minister say if he and the Government consider this a method of making Irish Shipping self-reliant? Does the Minister consider that the proper way to do this is to dispose of a vessel they already have? Is the Minister aware that members of the crew of the Dundalk have already been paid off and have not been re-employed as is implied in his reply?
This is a question of planning. It will take some time to decide what the long-term policy of the B & I company will be. In the meantime, the number of unit loads is growing so rapidly that it would be quite impossible for the B & I to formulate plans to build any new vessels until they had a complete conspectus of the whole position. The new board were appointed only in March, 1965, to carry on this work. There has been a considerable amount of reorganisation within the company, the appointment of new staff, an examination of the company's operations and through market research, the development of sales procedures on a more modern basis. In the meantime, the company is bound to take account of its financial position and bound to provide for the ever-growing number of unit loads available for import and export operations.
In view of the fact that this line has only recently been acquired by the State, surely this seems to follow a familiar pattern? Like the railways and everything else they are beginning to close down already. Does the Minister consider that after buying this vessel, which was supposed to be doing its job properly, and paying a substantial sum for it, the proper thing now is to scrap it and replace it with German vessels and German crews? If the Minister thinks that is the way to deal with this matter, he had better have another look at it.