Deputy Joe Doyle has given me notice of his intention to raise the matter as to whether the Minister for the Marine will make representations to Sealink in order to prevent the closure of the container terminals at Dublin and Holyhead.
Adjournment Debate. - Proposed Closure of Container Terminals.
I would like to thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for allowing me to raise this matter tonight. Sealink hold the lease from the port board of just over seven acres which constitutes the lift-on lift-off freight terminal in the ferry port in Dublin Port. The lease on the land expires on 31 March 1991 and the company have formally requested a renewal of the lease. Sealink operated a lo-lo service between Dublin and Holyhead up until December 1989 and since then it has been run by Rail Freight Distributors, RFD, a division of British Rail. RFD obtained stevedoring and terminal services under contract with Sealink at Dublin and Holyhead terminals.
Sealink, in a press release on 23 January of this year, announced that the container terminals at Dublin and Holyhead would close by 31 March 1991. The only reason given by Sealink is that they were unable to obtain a long term contract with RFD. There were no prior consultations with Dublin Port nor apparently with the Government. The arbitrary decision by Sealink will have serious cost repercussions for the Irish trade and will result in an annual net loss of £1 million to Dublin Port.
This service is the only lo-lo service between Dublin and the UK and is of vital strategic importance to Irish importers and exporters. It is quite unacceptable that Sealink should unilaterally make such a decision without consultation with the Irish Government or with Dublin Port who have responsibility for the administration of port facilities. Sealink's handling of this matter is particularly unacceptable having regard to the fact that the Irish Government provide them with terminal facilities on a continual basis at Dún Laoghaire for their freight and passenger services.
I understand that the Belfast port is now being considered for the trade and that Mr. John Needham, the Northern Ireland Minister of State, has taken a personal interest in this matter. He has visited the proposed Belfast terminal and has said he would welcome the new business to Belfast. Has any Irish Minister, especially the Minister for the Marine, taken such an interest? Already, traffic has started ebbing from Dublin terminal with regular customers making alternative arrangements. I understand that some customers have already transferred their business to Belfast.
My purpose in raising this matter tonight is to ask the Minister for the Marine to make urgent representations to Sealink in order to keep open to Irish exporters and importers the container terminals at Dublin and Holyhead. I should like to give the remainder of my time to Deputy Stafford.
I share, with my colleague Deputy Doyle, the shock of hearing of the proposed closure by Sealink which will cause the loss of approximately 40 jobs. It will affect not only those employed directly by Sealink but those who operate the tugs, importers, those who work for importers and those who operate the customs clearance. All these people are in danger of losing their jobs in a port which was doing extremely well and which gave very good employment to a large number of people. It greatly worries me that we in Dublin were so shabbily treated by this company and I urge the Minister to keep a very close eye on this matter. Because of our peripherality the whole of Ireland is in danger because of this. I thank Deputy Doyle for raising this matter and giving me one minute to speak on it.
Limerick West): I thank the Deputies for raising this matter. The operation to which the Deputy refers is the lift-on/lift-off container service provided by Sealink between Holyhead and Dublin port. My Department first became aware of Sealink's intention to close its lo-lo container terminal at 11.00 a.m. on 24 January, when they received a copy of Sealink's press release.
The Sealink Dublin container terminal opened in 1970. At that time, Sealink were the shipping subsidiary of British Rail, and in that capacity they provided the shipping and shore handling elements of a lo-lo service operated by Freightliner, a separate freight subsidiary of British Rail. Freightliner's main business was in moving containerised traffic around Britain, using the British Rail's rail and freight terminal network. The service to Ireland was, and is, a relatively small element of the overall business. The Irish Sea service at that time was a triangular service, operating between Holyhead, Belfast and Dublin Port.
In 1984, Sealink was privatised, and was purchased by the multinational company, Sea Containers. After privatisation, Sealink continued to supply the shipping and shore handling facilities for Freightliner's lo-lo operation.
In 1988, after a rationalisation of British Rail's freight divisions, Freight-liner were subsumed into Railfreight Distribution (RFD), another division of British Rail, which provided the cargo for the Sealink operation between Holyhead and Dublin.
I understand that Sealink made extensive efforts over the past six years to secure the future of the lo-lo service at Dublin and Holyhead. Despite this, Sealink were unable to secure a long term contract from Railfreight Distribution for the continuation of a lo-lo container operation at Dublin Port and Holyhead. Consequently, Sealink decided to cease lo-lo activities at Dublin and Holyhead.
Clearly, I am very concerned about the possible loss of a lo-lo container terminal located in Dublin Port. The removal of a key trade involving 500,000 tonnes of unitised cargo which generates almost £1 million income each year for Dublin Port, is a very serious matter.
This sea route has strategic importance to Irish importers and exporters. Cessation of the operation of the terminal will have repercussions for Irish trade at a critical juncture in the implementation of the EC Operational Programme on Peripherality, of which the Dublin Port unitised trade is an important part.
Since Sealink's announcement, senior officials of my Department have been in continuous contact with senior management of both Dublin Port and Sealink. I have asked them to make every effort to ensure a continuation of lo-lo operations at the Sealink terminal in Dublin Port, whether it is carried on by Sealink or by another operator. In this regard my officials will also be meeting Rail Freight Distributors next week.
My officials and I will continue to do our utmost to facilitate matters in a way which will ensure that this important sea route for lo-lo freight will be maintained. Sufficient lo-lo capability at Dublin Port is a critical feature of our harbours policy, endorsed by the European Commission in the Operational Programme on Peripherality.
I assure the House of my continued commitment to the resolution of the difficulties referred to by the Deputies.