asked the Minister for Communications if he will outline the amount of money obtained and obtainable over the last five years from the EC in respect of port development in Ireland; how that money was allocated; the amount granted to the port of Dublin; if it is the case that grants of between 50 and 80 per cent for capital works have been obtained by ports in Ireland, but that these have not applied to the port of Dublin; and if he will make a statement outlining the policy of grant approval for the port of the city of Dublin.
Written Answers. - Port Development.
87.
It is presumed that the Deputy's question relates to commercial harbours subject to the Harbours Act, 1946.
Grants of up to 50 per cent are available from the European Regional Development Fund in respect of infrastructural development, including harbour development, subject to a national quota. In the period 1981 to 1985, grants totalling £6.301 million were awarded in respect of the development of Cork Harbour. Grants from the ERDF are paid to the Exchequer and are used to increase the overall level of resources available for development through the public capital programme.
The only other source of EC financing for port development is the European Investment Bank which provides long term loans at commercial interest rates. A loan of almost £8.5 million in two instalments, the second being in March 1981, was made available by the EIB to the Exchequer for the Cork Harbour Development Project. Loans from the Bank are not allocated on a quota type basis so that the term "obtainable" has no real relevance where these loans are concerned.
State grants exceeding 50 per cent of total capital cost have been paid to various harbours over the years. A capital development programme at Dublin Port, begun in 1978, has recently been completed at a cost in excess of £17 million. The Government decided this year to make available to the board State grant assistance of £9 million spread equally over the period 1985-87, of which £3 million has already been paid this year. The general policy with regard to harbour grants for all commercial harbours is that they should be provided only where improvements are essential to meet well-defined commercial needs and where a harbour authority's own resources are insufficient. A review of this is in progress in connection with the forthcoming Green Paper on Transport Policy.