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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 23 Mar 1976

Vol. 289 No. 1

Private Members' Business. - Cork Harbour Development Plan: Motion.

I move:

That Dáil Éireann deplores the Government's continued failure to provide adequate funds towards the implementation of the Cork Harbour Development Plan.

In moving this motion, which is also in the names of Deputies Brosnan, Cronin, Gene Fitzgerald, French, Healy, Jack Lynch and Meaney, I am glad to be addressing my remarks to a fellow Cork Deputy, the Minister for Transport and Power. I hope he will accept my contribution to this debate as constructive and will appreciate my anxiety regarding the whole development of the Cork Harbour area.

In view of the present appalling condition of our economy it is of vital importance that the Government would invest money where the greatest potential for employment arises. Therefore, if the Government are serious about devising a policy to create employment, the Cork Harbour area must be a top priority. Cork Harbour must be considered as a regional development area where the greatest potential now exists, especially with the advent of gas and oil. The Government are gambling that all our economic ills will be remedied in this region, but to date they have not provided the necessary finance for its development.

The Cork Harbour Commissioners, together with the Cork County Council, the Cork Corporation, the Cork Chamber of Commerce and many other interested bodies are convinced that the harbour's greatest potential lies in its particular ability to attract major capital, kernel-type industries and, in doing so, stimulating the economy and providing a high level of new job opportunities, and I am sure the Minister will agree with me that this is essential now in view of rising unemployment. It would also create job opportunities for university and technological college graduates from the whole region of south Munster.

The basis of the plan is to improve the industrial infrastructure, thus making Cork Harbour more attractive for port-related industries such as petroleum refining, petro-chemicals, steel, primary metal production, and a wide range of organic and other chemical plants, for instance, shipbuilding, fertilisers, car reassembly and so on. There is tremendous competition among all European countries in attracting port-related industry, and if Ireland is to be successful it is essential to provide the basic infrastructure in advance of this demand. I do not have to inform the Minister that port-related industries are the fastest growing industrial sectors in the world. Surely then it should be the concern of the Government to attract those industries. There is little point in Irish Ministers going around the world trying to attract industries which are port-related unless we ourselves provide the facilities for them.

The credibility of the Cork Harbour area as a location suitable for heavy industry is now beginning to suffer because of the long delays in giving sanction to the plan and now I think, the refusal to sanction it. There have been so many promises from the Government that the plan would be sanctioned that foreign industrialists will now become sceptical that deep water facilities will ever be provided in Cork Harbour. We are seeing evidence of this at present in Cork. The Government therefore should be seen to be committed to the provision of these facilities rather than be waiting for industries to come to the harbour area. Cork Harbour has the largest single concentration of heavy industry in the State. It has a distinctive geographical location, as it adjoins the main bulk commodity lines into Europe. It has always been said that Cork Harbour is the gateway to Europe. It has the advantage of being a natural deep water harbour together with all the necessary services which Cork can offer.

Cork Harbour, through its industries and associate services, gives direct employment to over 7,000 people. I have no doubt that the Minister is also aware that if the harbour plan is not put in motion now, there is the risk that this employment will be placed in jeopardy. In my contribution to the budget debate I said that Cork Harbour was dying because we were restricted to vessels of about 12,000 tons and could not accept vessels of over 15,000 tons, while the more ambitious shipping companies of the world have bulk carriers of up to 150,000 tons.

The port is at a very critical stage in its development now. Unless immediate comprehensive dredging is carried out in Cork Harbour to accommodate the larger bulk carriers, the loss to the harbour will be gigantic. The Minister is one of the Deputies representing Cork in this House. He must be aware of the mounting unemployment in Cork city and county at the moment. He knows, too, that in the initial stages of this development at least 200 men will be employed, with a very definite assurance of much more employment for our people as time progresses. It is estimated—and I do not think we are exaggerating—that this development will create something in the region of 20,000 new jobs by 1990, and this is the kind of development the Government must be looking at. The Taoiseach has already mentioned the fact that we shall have to plan ahead to ensure full employment.

There is a considerable public investment running into millions of pounds, notably the acquisition of 600 acres of land at Ringaskiddy, and a commitment by Cork County Council with the Cork Corporation for two major water supply schemes to service the area. This kind of development demands water and sewerage for housing, factories and other community needs of the area. Delay in implementing the marine works means that the investment in land and the water supply is lying fallow and is the cause of further delay, due to inability to attract the type of industry most suitable to the area. These industries will be lost to the country if this plan is not proceeded with or if we cannot get a commitment from the Government now.

The policy of only providing facilities if a major multi-national decides to come is ludicrous. This had been mentioned on a number of occasions when deputations were received by the Minister. Industrialists will only come when all necessary facilities are available. These are proper business tactics and demands. It is important that we be in a position to dictate our terms to the multi-nationals, rather than vice versa. A Government spokesman admitted on many occasions that now is the time to mobilise all our resources and prepare for new industries in order to anticipate improving economic conditions in European markets over the next few years. The Taoiseach and the Minister said this also.

The plan having been endorsed and the strategy accepted, the money involved is modest in relation to the overall investment it will attract. It will have the advantage that once provided, the investments will be immediately recoverable. This is true. There is a need at this stage for the Government to invest and look back on the era of the late Seán Lemass, the leader of a Government which was always prepared to invest to bring about more employment for the Irish people.

This is the kind of initiative people expect from the Government. It is frightening to look at the country at the moment and see thousands of men lining up at the labour exchanges and costing the State millions of pounds. Here is Cork Harbour, an area ready and prepared to bring about this kind of incentive by providing the necessary employment and restoring confidence in our people. This is the logic of the Cork Harbour Regional Development Plan. We have spelled this out often to the Minister and his officials. I must question the sincerity of the Government in making such statements and not implementing them.

The Cork Harbour Regional Development Plan—I emphasise the word "regional"—will be of benefit to all port users and to the community as a whole. Importers and exporters will benefit from reduced transport costs, which are so essential, and which will result from the proposed new modern facilities. The ability to receive deep vessels will open up many new trade opportunities. For EEC countries, Japan and other distant markets, the proposed development will make the harbour an extremely attractive location for port industries and will reduce development costs. It will permit a greater number of industries to be established and will give a greater return on both public and private investment. This will result in greatly increased employment opportunities.

Over the past few years we have had spectacular developments of our mineral, off-shore oil and gas resources. The proposed development of Cork Harbour is very much related to providing the ideal base for the processing of our mineral and off-shore resources. This applies also to agriculture. A very large proportion of foodstuffs and agricultural produce are processed through the port. The economies in transport costs can be achieved by using large ships to assist the agricultural community. It would take me some time to mention the number of industrial commodities and so forth that could move through our port.

The increased industrial development in the harbour area will be of particular benefit to the national and regional economies. The plan will preserve the amenities of the harbour by concentrating development and will also facilitate monetary control and treatment of pollution.

The Minister's amendment to the motion is somewhat confusing. He notes a sum of £500,000 towards the cost of certain harbour development work included in the Cork Harbour Development Plan. We are talking here about a minor development of the overall plan. We are also informed in the Minister's amendment that this amount of money is the largest sum provided for any harbour authority in any one year. He must take into account the inflationary impact at present on this money. The motion ends by requesting the Government in due course to consider what further funds may be provided for the Cork Harbour Development Plan. I am sure the Minister will explain this more fully to me in his reply because here the Government are appealing to themselves and I find the whole point confusing.

People are talking about devising a policy of development while in Cork we have an area with all the potential necessary for this kind of development. It would be worth reading into the record some comments of a delegation to the EEC and the European Investment Bank on 11th and 12th March this year. The delegation consists of Mr. Peard, chairman, Cork Harbour Commissioners, Mr. A.J. Thornton, president, Cork Chamber of Commerce, Mr. L.A. French, general manager, Mr. F.A. Cunnane, finance controller, and Mr. J.B. O'Sullivan, planning and development manager, Cork Harbour Commissioners. At a meeting yesterday they submitted their comments to us. For the record I shall read the document they presented. I quote:

1. EEC officials discussed in a general manner the Regional Development Fund which presently covered the years 1975, 1976 and 1977. Ireland's allocation for those years had already been decided on and all grants were paid directly to the Irish Government.

What is the Deputy quoting from?

I am reading from a document placed before the meeting of the Cork Harbour Commissioners yesterday. It is from the delegation to the EEC and I can let the Minister have it afterwards, if he wishes.

That will not be necessary.

We like to keep the Minister informed.

The document continues:

2. It was presumed that there would be a Fund for the period following 1977 but there was no certainty about this or, indeed, of the likely size of Fund if there was to be one.

3. The Directorate General for Regional Policy are apparently anxious that the Fund be seen to be clearly identified in respect of specific projects and are anxious to have at least one major industrial infrastructural development project included in respect of the Regional Development Fund grants for Ireland.

4. Both EEC and European Investment Bank officials were aware in some detail of the Cork Harbour Plan. The delegation informed EEC officials and EIB officials of recent developments in attempts to progress the Plan and also pointed out in some detail that the Plan was not just a narrow port development plan but a strategy for the development of the overall subregion.

5. Mr. Wells confirmed that the Plan was of a type which would qualify for a grant and was also the type of large industrial infrastructural development which they were seeking to encourage. However, both he and Dr. Solima stressed that all proposals from Ireland must be processed through the Department of Finance in Dublin and that Brussels could not officially comment on any proposals unless they were submitted through this channel. They stressed that only the Irish Government could decide which projects are put forward for consideration by Brussels and also that only the Irish Government can decide on how the Fund is to be shared out amongst projects put forward by Dublin.

6. The European Investment Bank confirmed that the Plan was of a type which was likely to qualify for a bank loan and they requested additional financial information both in relation to harbour accounts and the Plan itself.

That last paragraph is very interesting. The Minister will recall that before Christmas I tabled a question to him asking when a decision would be made regarding the development plan for the harbour but the reply I was given did not enlighten me in any way. I asked the Minister subsequently if the Government had submitted to the EEC, as a regional development project, the Cork development plan. His reply was that the plan was submitted to the Department of Finance. When pressed further as to whether he had any information from the Minister for Finance regarding the submission of the plan to Brussels, the Minister said he was not so aware. At the time I attacked the Government for their lack of collective responsibility in this matter. One would have thought that in such a case a Minister would know what his fellow Minister was doing.

The document I have read proves that the plan is worth while and all the experts consulted in regard to this type of development claim that the project would be a worth-while investment. For how much longer are we in Cork and in Munster generally to have to continue impressing on the Government the importance of this development and for how much longer are we to continue to be told that as soon as an industry comes to the area the development of the harbour will be considered?

I recall meeting a delegation from Japan last year and at a luncheon I was asked by the group's leader what we were doing in regard to developing the harbour. As a Corkman, I had no option but to make a case which gave the impression that there was a development plan for it but he followed that up by asking the reason for the delay. While I cannot say that it was due to the non-development of the harbour, I learned later that this group had three industries in mind but that they decided not to set up in Cork. However, it is reasonable to assume that these industries were lost to us because of the failure to develop the harbour. As a member of Cork Harbour Commissioners, I recall receiving a number of inquiries some three or four years ago regarding the establishment of industries in the area but there are no longer such inquiries. It is very regrettable that we are not facing up to our responsibilities in regard to the development of the harbour because when we talk about employment, about facing the challenge of the EEC, we have the greatest potential for this kind of development. I applaud the Taoiseach's visit to America when he appealed to the Americans to set up industries here but what have we to offer them? I recall going to Aberdeen last year to see what was happening in relation to oil and gas and the tremendous development there. When I look at this country and Cork Harbour in relation to gas and oil what have we to offer? We are told that the big oil companies come in and say: "We want this" or "We want that immediately". One cannot say to them that they will get what they are looking for in a week or two. It is now they want what they are looking for. If we do not develop our resources now and the boom comes some time it will be a terrible thing if multi-nationals are able to dictate terms to us and we are not ready with the proper facilities and in a position to dictate our terms to them.

It is a sad thing to see Irish Ministers going around the world with their hats in their hands begging for money to pay our unemployed. We should be creating incentives for our people, developing our own resources and providing the necessary facilities to attract industry. We should be in a position at all times to dictate the terms of the Irish people to those wishing to set up industries in Ireland. I believe I know the Minister's views on this. He is like many more of us who have been or are members of local authorities in that area.

I do not know what the Minister can do to bring pressure to bear on the Government in relation to this matter. If the IDA can invest millions of pounds in acquiring land which is now lying dead surely we could receive this small sum? The £500,000 given to us is only a very small proportion of the overall plan. When the matter was first submitted it was estimated to be £9 million. I estimate it is now between £11 and £12 million. We can borrow hundreds of millions of pounds from the Arabs, the Germans and many others and the best part of that money is being invested in something which is non-productive. What is a sum of £10 million or £12 million invested in something that we know will be repaid one hundredfold in comparison with the total amount of money the Government have borrowed?

It cost us something in the region of £50,000 to erect a building to have Irishmen lining up for hand-outs. Cork Harbour is an area where money could be well invested. The Minister must impress on the Government the necessity to do something about this. The Taoiseach was in Cork and was taken around the harbour. I understand he was convinced that there was great potential here. When the Minister speaks tonight or tomorrow night I ask him in the name of Cork people, in the name of the thousands of people who are unemployed, to give his full commitment to this development. If he does that he will have done a good day's work not for the region of Munster but for the country as a whole.

I would like to move the following amendment on behalf of the Minister for Transport and Power:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and to substitute the following:

"notes that a sum of £500,000 towards the cost of certain harbour improvement works included in the Cork Harbour Development Plan has been provided in the harbour grants subhead of the Estimate for Transport and Power for 1976 which is the largest sum ever provided for any harbour authority in one year and requests the Government in due course to consider what further funds may be provided for the Cork Harbour Development Plan".

I would like to compliment the previous speaker on his interest in Cork Harbour. We are from the harbour area but at the same time I am confident that the Minister in taking the steps he did has acted wisely because the harbour plan as initially moved involved a massive development in the whole Ringaskiddy area. This was hinged around Du Pont, with their ancillary companies coming to Cork. Between 400 and 600 acres were involved in this development. The harbour plan was introduced in the knowledge that Du Pont was on. However, due primarily to the world economic decline in the use of tetarium dioxide Du Pont have totally abandoned their plans for the Ringaskiddy development pro tem. Since that time no industrialist has come forward with an industry of similar magnitude in relation to tonnage to the port or employment to warrant such an approval.

The only suggestion, which came from the commissioners, was the reallocation of certain industries presently based in the city area. In a revised plan an effort was made to identify certain industries. It is true to say that no worth-while industry emerged to justify this expenditure other than to syphon them away from other parts of the harbour.

At this moment we must contain our spending to the primary industries and not to relocating any secondary ones. In all the Ringaskiddy area we have nearly 2,000 acres zoned for industry. There is nothing to suggest the Government will release this land to other than port related industries. As no industrialists have put forward plans to locate industries in that area, with an employment content or a tonnage throughput to warrant massive capital investment from central funds to the order of £10 million, I cannot see the Minister or the Government involving themselves in that type of enterprise just now. With an improved economic situation, if Du Pont, or somebody like that, at a later stage, decide to come forward and interest themselves on scales as originally envisaged, the Government and the Minister will not be found wanting.

While the harbour plan satisfies all the criteria of the Government and the EEC regional development rules, the argument for its implementation is rather sterile when it can do no more than provide a series of dock facilities without the commitment of one single industry to support it. The Minister has allocated the sum of £500,000 which will be most usefully spent on dredging and on removing the outer bar at Roches Point, which will enable us to improve the depth of water from the present 35 feet, low water, spring tide, to 48 feet. In the inner harbour at the spit bank it will enable us to bring in boats drawing 35 feet of water instead of the present 27 feet, thus helping to cater for the present massive tonnages. For instance, the Whitegate Refinery will be able to take tankers with a capacity of 200,000 tons as against the present 35,000 tons limitation.

As well, this dredging operation will enable us to open up the whole area at Aghada where real development is taking place at present At the moment there is the construction of the new ESB station at Aghada and a new Nitrigin Éireann factory at Marino Point which will provide employment for up to 1,700 people, or more, at peak production, with a weekly payroll of up to £150,000, most of which will be spent in the Cork area. In his wisdom, the Minister has allocated the funds he had at his disposal to the development of natural gas fields, bringing in this very valuable asset which is so necessary at the moment for employment, and for ensuring that we will have an adequate supply of energy, and that we will have fertilisers at the right price.

The Kinsale gas field will have a flow rate of 125 million cubic feet of gas per day for 20 years or more. If we are serious when we talk about jobs, this is what jobs are all about, here and now. There is no point in speculating when funds are tight and, in the teeth of a world economic recession, there is no point in building fancy bridges which carry us nowhere. We have to look at the reality of the situation. We have to look to areas where sound solid jobs can be provided, where money to the tune of £75 million per annum will be brought in to help our balance of payments.

This is where the real wisdom of the Minister is shown in this development. The ESB will use their allocation of gas to generate electricity at Aghada and at their station at Marino. Nitrigin Éireann will use their allocation as a feed stock for the production of ammonia and urea, ammonia to the tune of 1,350 tons per day, and urea to the tune of 1,000 tons per day. Look at the jobs that would be involved in this. Suppose Gouldings get involved, and other fertiliser manufacturers and if we really start compounding in a big way and with this new exciting development of Gouldings having at their disposal fertilisers from Florida instead of the very tight Moroccan phosphate fields, just imagine what development this will mean and the necessity for having at their disposal nitrogenous fertilisers.

This is why I feel very strongly that the Minister is acting wisely in spending his money where he will get jobs. There is no speculation: just the hard reality of providing work for the people of the Cork area in huge numbers. For instance, the Cork Gas Company will receive a supply of gas to satisfy 27,000 domestic consumers and the use of the Kinsale gas for the electricity generating stations and fertiliser production will improve our balance of payments to the tune of about £75 million and will help towards achieving self-sufficiency in energy and fertilisers.

When the ESB plant at Aghada and the Nitrigin Éireann plant at Marino are in full production, there will be a total of 600 fulltime, permanent jobs. This is a real achievement by the Minister for Transport and Power. What amazes me about all this is that we hear a lot of talk from the Opposition saying we must do this and we must do that. What were they doing in all the years they were in power? Why did they not think of developing the harbour and preparing for the boom that was to come with the EEC? This could have been done at a fraction of the present cost, when economies generally were in a boom situation. Yet nothing was done. In the teeth of an economic recession, we are expected to spend millions in a speculative enterprise at Ringaskiddy. We have no foundation for saying that industries will or will not come. In recent months our experience has been to the contrary.

The ESB station at Aghada will cost about £40 or £50 million. That is a real investment by the Minister for Transport and Power. This investment will justify itself. The gas pipeline itself will cost £12 million. The Nitrigin Éireann factory will cost a further £60 million. These are all facts and this is the type of money the Cork Minister for Transport and Power is spending in his own county. He is as interested as we are in providing jobs and he is going about it in a very wise fashion. For instance, the supply of gas from the Kinsale field will be the equivalent of more than one million tons of oil per annum. In other words, when the Kinsale gas field is in full production there will be a considerable saving on imports of oil from the Middle East and elsewhere. When the Aghada station is in full operation there will be an additional electrical generating capacity of 270 megawatts and when the new Nitrigin factory is in full production it will produce 2,350 tons of fertilisers per day.

Reference has been made to the dredging operation. As I pointed out already, this will open up a completely new area in the lower harbour where there will be an oil refinery with 1,200 acres zoned for development. In Aghada we will be able to service the semi-submersible oil drilling rigs which have a minimum draft of 25 feet. This could not be done up to now. I should like to make a comparison with Norway where this operation is carried out in Stavanger. It has been found that this servicing has created substantial employment and it has built up the area as a prime service port for the North Sea gas and oil. We can visualise what an exciting development that will be for the lower harbour, where it will give considerable employment for skilled and unskilled men. We want this type of exciting new enterprise, the building of modules and being able to float them from the dockyard, as well as the building of offshore rigs and being able to carry them out. In the past we had this insuperable bar stretching from Roches Point to the other side, preventing any type of substantial shipping entering the port of Cork. With this dredging operation that will be taken care of and ships will be able to move freely in and out of the harbour. It will provide the much needed jobs.

There will also be the jetty at Marino Point where there is a new factory. This will be able to cater with maximum safety for ships of 35,000 tons. I do not have to point out the importance of being able to use the jetty to the maximum. The decision to dump the dredging material at sea was criticised but research has shown that this is the cheapest and most effective way of disposing of it. It will not cause any silting up at a future date.

The Minister has responsibility to provide as many jobs as possible with the limited finance at his disposal, and he is doing this. He has wisely decided to spend the money on the development of our natural gas resources, on building the gas-fired ESB stations and on the manufacture of fertilisers. In view of our present unemployment problems, to deploy State funds to hazy speculative developments would be economic suicide. The gas line to which the Minister has given top priority will provide more than 1,700 jobs, it will help our balance of payments and it will provide much needed fertiliser.

If Du Pont and other firms come back, we will be ready for them with open arms and we will provide whatever jetties or services they require. However, until they appear with concrete proposals it would be suicide to spend money that is so badly needed for the production of gas and oil, to provide fertilisers and to ensure the most important supply of water that will be necessary for these industries. The provision of an adequate water supply for the Cork Harbour area is vital for the development of the area. The planning of a major water supply scheme to serve the harbour area, Cork city and its environs is well advanced and is partly in construction. The work is being undertaken jointly by the Cork County Council and the Cork Corporation and it is referred to as a joint scheme. It is an important scheme and in the present year the Minister for Local Government has provided loans amounting to £11.169 million towards the financing of the three contracts.

All of us know that finance is tight and that Britain, Europe and the world are going through a severe economic crisis. We are finding difficulty in marketing and in getting realistic prices for our top quality agricultural products. The Minister was wise to consider areas that would give a quick return and that would provide many jobs in a short time There is no point in providing jobs if there is not a spin-off. We must provide productive jobs, especially at a time of crisis. There is no point in developing docks or other facilities if there are no industries to use them. It is much better to spend the money in areas where there will be a spin-off. Places such as Whitegate, Marino Point and Aghada are areas where money should be and is being spent. It will be spent in even greater amounts if the need arises. The gas and oil industry is only in its infancy. We will have the further development with regard to oil. It is wise on the part of the Minister to be looking at the lower harbour, even from the point of view of car ferries. That might be the place to have the jetties of the future. It might pay us better to go a little further downstream where the deep water is. This might be the logical approach if we want to get our produce out at the right price.

That might be a thought for the future rather than attempting to do the impossible and spending a lot of money on it. Why not go a few miles downstream where the water is deep? After the present work has been completed that area will be capable of dealing with any tonnage in the foreseeable future. I compliment the Minister on what he has done for the Cork area. In office he got things moving. I commend him on his wisdom to date. I hope he will not be swayed by any pressures and will continue to do what I consider to be correct economically.

Because of the presence of so many Deputies from the area this is a matter which might appear to be of local importance only, but in my view it is a national matter. If it is the Government's policy fully to exploit our natural resources for the benefit of the nation we should be made aware of those resources. It is also proper that Deputies from the region should highlight any neglect they feel the Government may be guilty of. If Tara Mines, or Navan Mines, are considered national resources surely the advantages of Cork Harbour, one of the 12 greatest harbours in the world, can be considered as being of national importance. That harbour is important for the national economy and the life of the country.

In the mid-1950s one of the first bodies to recognise the industrial potential of the area concerned was Cork County Council. They went to considerable expense and engaged the services of experts to get the three statutory bodies mainly concerned with the development of the whole area together. Cork Corporation and Cork Harbour Commissioners were included. These bodies had plans prepared for any development that might occur. We had just experienced a depressing period and were looking forward to the future with a certain amount of confidence. We all know that it is not enough to offer industrialists land if there is not an adequate water supply available and for this reason a good deal of work went into the preparation of the development plan. In conjunction with Cork Corporation, and Cork Harbour Commissioners, a plan was submitted for the development of the harbour area in 1972. In my view it was a bit of a misnomer to call it the "Cork Harbour Development Plan" because the plan went much further. It included the southern region of Cork county and Cork city and any benefit accruing to those areas would be to the advantage of the entire county. In my view it should have been called the Southern Regional Development Plan. That plan was well researched and documented and was based on successful European experience. It involved the taking into public ownership of 2,000 acres of land in the harbour area.

From the point of view of the county council it meant the laying of mains to carry an enormous amount of fresh water, a tremendous undertaking. The whole thing was an enlightened approach to the future prosperity of the area. When international concerns are approached to set up industries they seek information on the facilities and amenities available and they are hard headed enough to go to the area that suits them best. For that reason we do not gain much by not having as many advantages as possible to add to our natural resources. That requires a lot of planning, heartbreak, expense and confidence in the future.

When the Taoiseach returned from his visit to the United States we heard a lot about the industries that will be established here as a result of that visit but, in spite of the undertakings given to him, those industrialists will expect to find certain facilities and amenities. If they do not get them they will go to the country where they will get better treatment. I hope the enterprises mentioned by the Taoiseach will materialise and that we will see the benefit of them in years to come. During the period I was referring to Cork Harbour was recognised as a development area with tremendous potential. A previous speaker said that when we lost Du Pont the bottom fell out of the plans envisaged for that area. There is little substance in such argument because Du Pont is not the only industry that could be attracted. I was pleased to know that Galway and other places are being considered for new enterprises and I hope those industries will bring material prosperity to those areas but that should not take from the advantages of Cork Harbour and its hinterland. That harbour is a national asset as great as Tynagh Mines or any other area of hidden wealth we may have. Cork Harbour and the hinterland adjacent to it are tremendous national assets and they should now be developed and made ready for any international concern wishing to start an industry here, especially a harbour-oriented industry.

We know that the plan, which was well researched by the three bodies concerned, involved the taking into public ownership of some 2,000 acres in the area. Everything was planned for potential development. Du Pont felt that because of world conditions the time was not right for them and they withdrew, whereupon everything seized up. This is the time we should be preparing for industrial enterprises. There is no reason why when things improve Du Pont should not go back to their first intention. Now is the time to go ahead and not later on when they may decide somewhere else is more advantageous because better developed.

Part of the plan has been implemented. The IDA have acquired 650 acres. There has been complete co-operation between Cork County Council, Cork Corporation and Cork Harbour Board. Their experts have drawn up the plans. Everything is there except for Government assistance. Government assistance does not mean that the local bodies and the local people will not pay their fair share. Locally there will be no more prosperity out of this development than there is from any other development in any other part of the country. Industrial development in that particular area would be of advantage to the economy of the whole country. Everyone understands that. A great deal of money has been spent on bringing matters to the stage at which they are now and there is no reason why the area should not be developed. There is not one dissentient voice against the investing of money in the development of Cork Harbour.

We realise the Minister may have difficulty in persuading his colleagues to give him the necessary money. Funds may be scarce and he may not be in a position to give the kind of sum anticipated earlier. Times have changed but that does not mean policy must change completely. This would be a worthwhile investment. According to today's papers the Taoiseach's American visit has been a great success. We will be getting certain industries. We should be preparing now for them and surely we could not have a better investment than the development of this area which would be so valuable to the economy as a whole. It could be a very valuable asset. We wanted millions but they are not there. Looking back over the records of the last three or four years, millions have been spent on other things which were not, perhaps, such valuable assets. An investment in this development would be a good investment.

The Government should underwrite the future by preparing for this development. That does not mean spending £5 million or £6 million this year and the same sum next year. All we would ask is £1½ million this year to see how things will go. The original plan laid down a term of five years. I will not mind if it takes ten years so long as it is done progressively and intelligently. The £500,000 is merely a gesture and that is all. Another £1 million would have made a great difference in laying the proper foundation for major development of the whole area for the future. The sum required to run the country is truly astronomical as compared with what it cost ten years ago. Surely out of that astronomical sum the Government could spare £1½ million or £2 million to start a major enterprise like this which would attract industries from all over the world. We have one of the finest harbours and hinterlands. Employment would be provided.

I make no personal reflection on the Minister. He is handicapped by the resources placed at his disposal. The Taoiseach, the Minister and other Members of the Government have all praised this idea at various times. The scheme was acceptable with, perhaps, some minor alternations and it was admitted to be something that would be a great asset to the future development of the whole country. When you are speaking in this House and there are mostly only Cork men listening you are speaking to the converted. Although we know it is the finest asset the country has for the future, it may be very hard to convince others of that. Nevertheless, it would be a very uninitiated Irishman who would not realise the potential of the development of Cork Harbour and the surrounding area.

The county council deserve great credit for their work in initiating gigantic, or what would be gigantic to us, water schemes to provide for industries which they hoped would come and take advantage of them. However, now they find themselves in very serious difficulty. Having had at least verbal encouragement and praise from Ministers of past Governments and this Government and from various public figures, they went along very enterprisingly and made plans for the welfare of the community. They now find the carpet has been withdrawn from under their feet. Because one industry dropped out and conditions are difficult, they are left suspended like Mahomet's coffin. They are being ill-repaid for the intelligence and enterprise with which they engaged on these major works for the future benefit of the country. As I say, the council deserve great credit for what they did, and let me say in passing that that was after I left the council: I do not want to take any credit for what they did there.

Naturally, the Harbour Commissioners are anxious to initiate harbour activity. The IDA have 650 acres down there which are moribund at the moment. It would be a tragedy if this asset was not used for some harbour orientated purpose, with industry exporting and importing through the harbour and using the harbour for the purpose for which the Lord gave it to us. One would think the Government would regard it as a priority to provide money for the development of the Cork Harbour area. It is all very fine to be talking about mines and gas and oil off the shore, but here we have an asset that any other country in the world would regard as more valuable than a gold mine. Instead of neglecting that asset we should capitalise on it. Site land is valuable anywhere, but it is more valuable when, as in the case of Cork, it is used for the production of goods and material which need harbour facilities. As an island country, we depend on exports and imports, and the value of Cork Harbour is inestimable.

I should like the Government to make a statement endorsing what we know as the Cork Harbour plan but which is really a southern regional plan. If the Government said: "In the present circumstances we cannot commit ourselves to paying a fixed sum every year, but we will commit ourselves to seeing the plan implemented as far as we can, taking into consideration all our other commitments," the various bodies concerned would have little difficulty in raising the money in the interim and would certainly feel relieved of a great burden in developing the whole area. Again, I must come back to the fact that the various, I will not say promises but half promises, made by the Taoiseach and the Government to implement the Cork Harbour Development Plan have in large measure been unfulfilled. The local authorities went to great expense in the matter of research and so on, and now there is even talk that the plan might be shelved and somewhere else selected.

That is a very poor return to the three statutory bodies who have done tremendous work over the past number of years and who, before this financial crisis arose and world inflation started raging, had done an excellent job for this country. I must blame the Government for their indecision over the past three years. The Taoiseach had made a speech in Cork and we understood that in a very short time something definite would be done. I can say something similar about the Minister. I am sure he regrets now that he half committed himself, to say the least of it, about the Cork Harbour Development Plan. Circumstances have caught up with him, and I am not blaming either the Minister or the Taoiseach for that. At the same time, some explanation and some commitment are due. The Government, through the Minister, could commit themselves for the future. The plan need not be implemented next year or the year after. It would be a guarantee and we could go ahead from there. I cannot understand why we cannot have a yes or no about it. Why was the £500,000 we are getting this year not put in the overall plan and made part of it? I understand the Government's difficulty in getting money and I do not want anyone to think that Cork is looking for all the money that is available, but to ask for £1,500,000 as an instalment for the future of Cork Harbour is surely not too much out of a budget of thousands of millions of pounds. I would not go so far as to say we want £1,500,000 the following year as well. All we want is the first instalment towards the plan so that the Government will be committed to the plan. At the moment there is uncertainty. The county council are committed more than they would like to be, as are the harbour commissioners. There is an air of indecision about the whole matter.

Debate adjourned.
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